Amid murmurs of criticism from his Western sponsors, Bosnia's senior mediator, Mr Carlos Westendorp, has refused to cut short a holiday in Spain to meet the US Bosnia envoy, Mr Richard Holbrooke.
"The High Representative is in Spain," said Mr Westendorp's spokesman, Mr Simon Haselock. "He is on holiday. He'll be back at the end of the week."
US sources said he should not be taking holidays after less than two months in his job: "He should be present at such a critical time," said one. But Mr Westendorp's office hit back: "Some of the statements which I've seen attributed to various diplomats are extraordinary," said Mr Haselock. "Anonymous briefings to the press are unhelpful in this context." Some European diplomats went further, claiming Mr Holbrooke was annoyed because Mr Westendorp had stolen his thunder this week by orchestrating the international non-recognition of Bosnia's ambassadors. They said Mr Westendorp, a Spaniard, had with this move stepped up diplomatic pressure on Bosnia to abide by the Dayton agreement.
Mr Holbrooke, prime mover behind the Dayton peace agreement, which ended Bosnia's 43-month war in 1995, returns to the Balkans as a special US envoy today for a three-day visit. He is due to have talks with Croatian President Mr Franjo Tudjman, Bosnian President Mr Alija Izetbegovic, and Yugoslav President Mr Slobodan Milosevic during his three-day visit.
"We've done all the work, brought the agreement right to the edge - he'll [Mr Holbrooke] come in and say `I've banged heads together, it took me to sort it out'," said one diplomat. "The fact is that we've [Europeans] achieved an awful lot recently."
Meanwhile Luxembourg, as holder of the EU's revolving presidency, recommended that all 15 EU states suspend contact with Bosnian ambassadors. The freeze was imposed in an attempt to force a fair division of diplomatic posts by Bosnia's ethnically split government.
France, Britain, Sweden, Austria, Italy and Germany, all concerned by the faltering pace in implementing Bosnia's 1995 peace treaty, had already suspended contact, along with the US. Spain said it would follow suit.
In a brief statement, the Luxembourg Foreign Ministry said the move would not mean suspending all diplomatic relations with Bosnia.
Each of Bosnia's factions, which must split 33 ambassadors' posts between them, wants the plum post of head of the Washington embassy.
Diplomatic sources have said that Bosnia's current ambassadors were all appointed by the Muslim-dominated wartime central government headed by Mr Izetbegovic. That government fought separatist Serbs and Croats.
None of the current ambassadors has been approved by the post-war inter-ethnic collective presidency, as demanded by Western powers, in a clear sign of the depths of mutual suspicion remaining between the factions.
Montenegro's President, Mr Momir Bulatovic, a close ally of the Serbian President, Mr Slobodan Milosevic, was yesterday fighting for his political survival after a split in his party.
Mr Bulatovic and his supporters have scheduled a congress of the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) today in Kolasin (350 km south of Belgrade), a move not recognised by his opponents, headed by the Prime Minister, Mr Milo Djukanovic.
Tensions between Montenegro and Serbia have been rising since some Montenegrin leaders, led by Mr Djukanovic, accused Belgrade of holding back political and economic reforms, and blamed Serbia for Yugoslavia's international isolation.