In an interview the Bosnian daily Dnevni Avaz published on Tuesday, the US ambassador to Bosnia said that after consultations with State Secretary Condoleezza Rice, Under Scretary Nicholas Burns was instructed to give new impetus to US diplomatic endeavours in the Balkans.
McElhaney said that from the US perspective, this year was the most important for the region since 1995 and that three objectives had been set.
He said Bosnia-Herzegovina should complete the process of unification, namely the reforms of the police and the military.
The ambassador said the most important issue was the arrest of Bosnian Serb wartime leaders Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic by the end of the year. He added Serbia-Montenegro had the task to make sure that they were brought to justice this year.
The third issue the US diplomacy will insist on this year is a solution for Kosovo, which McElhaney said meant that negotiations must continue on meeting standards, but also on the status of the UN-administered province in south Serbia.