Croatia, it seems, is openly threatening to block Bosnia and Herzegovina’s path to NATO. In the last few days, several top officials of the neighboring country have made it clear that they are ready to enter in a diplomatic clash with our country.
Official Zagreb, as it turns out, intends to use to try to achieve the implementation of its goals in BiH, and that is to change the electoral legislation to ensure “equality of all peoples in BiH”, ie to prevent, as they claim, one nation elects representatives to another nation, Avaz news portal reports.
On Wednesday, Member of Parliament Miroslav Tudjman hinted that Croatia was ready to go in the direction of blackmail.
”It is important that the Serbian and Bosniak sides get acquainted with the views of Croatian politics and what it will insist on in relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially if BiH wants Euro-Atlantic integration,” said Tudjman, threatening our country.
A similar position, coincidentally or not, was repeated yesterday by Croatian President Zoran Milanovic, commenting on the conflict he has with SDA leader Bakir Izetbegovic.
”The country is stagnant and when someone tells me that BiH will join NATO – I have a problem that a country that is so uncoordinated enters NATO. In a situation like this, you put an ally on your back for which you have to answer, and he is unable to fulfill his obligations. And it seems to me personally that Mr. Izetbegovic looks more towards Ankara. But Ankara is also in NATO, at least still,” Milanovic added.
Milanovic also said that Croatia “has a way to fight peacefully and persistently, if you will, in a rude way for what belongs to its people in BiH”, adding that “there was a lot of pickpocketing”.
It should be emphasized that BiH itself is far from NATO membership. Not only is there no internal consensus, ie there is a blockade of parties from the RS, but before membership it is necessary to meet a number of technical conditions.
When it comes to blockades of neighboring countries, we have already had a similar case in the region. Thus, Greece blocked the access of Northern Macedonia to NATO for years, and the blockade was lifted only when the dispute over the name of the country was resolved. The question is, of course, whether Croatia is bluffing or would really try to block BiH’s entry into NATO in case the door of the most powerful military alliance opens for our country. That would certainly lead her into a diplomatic conflict with powerful Western allies.
