最新杏吧原创

With the 最新杏吧原创 area boasting a Bosnian population greater than any city outside of Europe, it鈥檚 no surprise that two of its representatives in Congress would go to bat for the beleaguered Balkan nation.

U.S. Reps. Ann Wagner, R-Town and Country, and Wesley Bell, D-最新杏吧原创, have signed on as sponsors of a bill that would sanction criminals who seek to destroy the Dayton Peace Accords.

Wagner, who gained passage of similar bills in 2022 and 2024, said it is critical to 鈥渟top destabilizing actions in the region that have gotten worse,鈥� Wagner said.

The peace agreement, reached in 1995, created the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. That nation is divided into two parts, one composed mainly of Bosnians and Croats, and the other of Serbs.

In recent years, supporters of the agreement have become concerned that Russia鈥檚 war in the Ukraine could help foster Serbian efforts to secede their part of the nation, known as the Republika Srpska, from the 30-year-old republic.

Bell agreed that the action is needed.

鈥淧eace doesn鈥檛 keep itself,鈥� Bell said. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 afford to look the other way while corruption and division threaten hard-won peace.鈥�

U.S. Reps. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, and Jake Auchincloss, D-Massachusetts, also signed up as sponsors.

最新杏吧原创 is home to an estimated 70,000 Bosnian natives. Many of them live in south 最新杏吧原创 and south 最新杏吧原创 County, and still have relatives back in the Balkan area.