International delegations may beat a trail to Ms Biljana Plavsic's door here, but 30 miles away, the Bosnian Serb president is regarded as a traitor whose security cannot be guaranteed.
Since a power struggle broke out two months ago between Ms Plavsic and hardliners loyal to the former leader, Dr Radovan Karadzic, she has found herself confined to an area about 30 miles in diameter around her stronghold of Banja Luka in north-west Bosnia.
But with local elections due throughout Bosnia next weekend, she retains the support of the international community, which is keen to see the Serb ultranationalists in Pale driven into a corner.
Ms Plavsic has also won the loyalty of the main corps of the Bosnian Serb army and of a large faction of the police of the Republika Srpska, the Bosnian Serb entity. "Admittedly, she is trapped in her region," says an international expert. "However, she is well established there. British soldiers guard her against any attack and it is the most developed area in the (Bosnian Serb) republic. She is not without trump cards." In the face of threats from Pale, where her arch-rival Mr Momcilo Krajisnik is based, Ms Plavsic has split the heavily armed police forces. Pro-Plavsic police have won control of the police headquarters in Banja Luka and Prijedor, the two biggest towns in the western half of the Serb entity.
Smaller police stations are following what is going on. "A murky game is being played. They are waiting to see in which direction the wind is going to blow," the expert said.
In her own waiting game, Ms Plavsic is not budging from her stronghold. She declined an invitation from Mr Krajisnik, the Serb member of Bosnia's three-man presidency, to meet in Bijeljina.
Accused by the chief of staff, Gen Pero Colic, of having divided the Bosnian Serb army, Ms Plavsic has the tacit support of the First Army Corps, which is based in Banja Luka.
After incidents in the northern town of Brcko, in which pro-Pale civilians stoned US SFOR soldiers accused of supporting her, Ms Plavsic has for now stopped trying to take control of other police stations.
However, she still draws support from a television transmitter in Kozara, close to Banja Luka, which is now broadcasting in her favour.
Its news bulletins begin each day with images of foreign visitors flocking to the president's side, but, echoing the situation faced by Ms Plavsic, its range is limited.
"Once again we see the traditional divide between the towns, which support Plavsic, and the countryside where Karadzic remains a hero. She needs time to change things," an editor said.
The United States is backing Ms Plavsic, who was herself a hardliner and an ardent exponent of ethnic cleansing during the 43month Bosnian war. The US envoy, Mr Richard Holbrooke, the architect of the 1995 Dayton peace accords, has said that NATO will oppose any attempt to overthrow her.