BiH Defense Minister Sifet Podzic said today in Sarajevo after a meeting with German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht that her visit was a message that we are not alone and that we will cooperate with NATO and EU member states.
He pointed out that the support of Germany in the past two years was of great importance for the Ministry of Defense of BiH, for which he especially thanked.
”Regardless of all the economic consequences that will be felt by all the inhabitants of Europe, we agreed that we must condemn the barbarism we are witnessing towards the citizens of Ukraine,” said Podzic.
He added that the countries of the region, including BiH, are not fully integrated into the EU and NATO, and due to Russia’s aggressive behavior, this can be a very sensitive area.
“A firm promise and encouragement for us is that we will not be alone because we have our friends from the EU and NATO, and in that context we also discussed the future of the EUFOR mission,” said Podzic.
He added that they agreed that if there was a problem with the extension of that mission, they would jointly find a way to preserve peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“Through the “Berlin +” program and good cooperation between EUFOR, NATO and BiH. We have concluded that the authorities must not allow 25 years of peace in BiH to be disturbed,” Podzic underlined.
He said that members of the Armed Forces of BiH participated in numerous peace support missions and expressed hope that there would be no need to participate in the defense of Europe.
“And if necessary, we are here,” Podzic emphasized.
German Federal Minister of Defence Christine Lambrecht was in Sarajevo yesterday, and as part of her visit to the Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) capital, she also met with Defense Minister Sifet Podzic.
In her address to the media, Lambrecht said that she had a very important conversation with Minister Podzic, which was primarily open and free-spirited, Klix.ba writes.
”I am glad that we share the opinion when it comes to Europe’s values, which are based on peace, democracy, and democratic values,” said Lambrecht.
The German Minister of Defense adds that they agreed that European values must be defended everywhere.
”We agreed that European values must be defended everywhere, even in the Western Balkans, and BiH can count on the support of Germany,” she emphasized.
Minister Lambrecht also praised the peacekeeping mission conducted by the Armed Forces of BiH in Afghanistan.
”Germany wants a stable Western Balkans and these are not just words, these are wishes that can be fulfilled. We want to see the Western Balkans move closer to the European Union (EU) and NATO. We want to fight together if there are any challenges,”Lambrecht added.
The Minister of Defense of BiH, Sifet Podzic, also addressed the media, referring, among other things, to the ungrateful status that the Ministry of Defense has in our country, considering that it has been functioning without a budget at the state level since 2020.
Podzic also said that he had talked with Minister Lambrech about the EUFOR mission in BiH and that they both agreed that it was important to extend the mandate.
”We also talked about the future of EUFOR in BiH, because their mandate in our country expires in November. We agreed that, if there are problems with the extension of the EUFOR mission in BiH, we will find a way to preserve peace and security in our country,” Podzic stated.
