Bosnia and Herzegovina's Foreign Minister Elmedin Konaković declared two Serbian embassy officials persona non grata Tuesday, ordering them to leave the country within 48 hours in response to Serbia's state funeral for war crimes convict Ratko Mladić.
Konaković identified the expelled diplomats as Milan Dulanović, defence attaché and military attaché at the Serbian Embassy, and Danko Maksimović, adviser at the embassy. Both were given until Thursday to depart.
At a press conference in Sarajevo, Konaković said his decision was a response to the glorification of a war criminal and the state honours accorded to Mladić's funeral in Belgrade on Monday.
The expulsion order was issued under a 2004 regulation adopted by Bosnia's Presidency governing the declaration of persona non grata status for diplomatic personnel. The regulation permits the country to declare unwelcome any head of a diplomatic mission, consular office, or international organization mission accredited to Bosnia, as well as any member of such missions.
Konaković also announced broader diplomatic consequences. He said Bosnia had withdrawn its consent for a joint declaration on good neighbourly relations and regional cooperation that was scheduled to be signed in Montenegro on October 1. He stated the country would not sign such declarations while Serbia conducts itself as it did during the 1990s.