Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Foreign Ministry has lodged a diplomatic protest with Israel after the country’s official state flag was omitted during meetings between Bosnian Presidency member Željka Cvijanović and Israeli officials, media reports said on Wednesday.
According to the reports, the ministry said Bosnia and Herzegovina’s flag—the country’s only internationally recognised state symbol—was not displayed during Cvijanović’s meetings with Israeli leaders during her visit last weekend.
Instead, the flag of Republika Srpska, one of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s two entities, was displayed, creating what the ministry described as the impression that it represented the state officially.
The Foreign Ministry said the incident failed to show appropriate respect for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s sovereignty, constitutional order and internationally recognised symbols, adding that it did not reflect the level of mutual respect expected in bilateral relations.
Cvijanović, the Serb member of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s tripartite Presidency, visited Israel on Sunday and Monday, where she met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.
Photographs released from the meetings showed the flag of Republika Srpska displayed in place of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s national flag.
The visit also drew criticism after Saar wrote on X that he and Cvijanović had discussed “the need to protect Christian minorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”