The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina(BiH), Bisera Turkovic, spoke on the occasion of the announcement of the Russian Embassy in BiH, saying that Russia had previously given support to the Law on Defense of BiH, which envisaged the implementation of activities necessary for admission to NATO.
Turkovic emphasized that the Law on the Defense of BiHstipulates that the institutions of BiH, within the framework of their competences, will carry out the activities necessary for admission to NATO.
“Every year, BiH submits the NATO Program of reforms that meet the requirements for membership,” said Turkovic.
She pointed out that those decisions were made in a democratic procedure, in the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, with the consent of everyone in BiH.
“None of those decisions were imposed, nor were they overruled. On the contrary,” Turkovic stressed.
She added that even the Russian Federation gave its consent to the Law on the Defense of BiH, which stipulates this, and the former Russian ambassador to BiH was a member of the Commission for the Defense Reform of BiH.
“NATO in BiH are not ‘occupation troops’, as the Russian Embassy in BiH claims in its comment published on social networks,” said Turkovic.
On the contrary, the minister pointed out, the role of NATO forces and NATO headquarters in BiH is a contribution to peace and is in accordance with the request of BiH authorities, and it was also established in the Dayton Peace Agreement.
“We expect the Russian Federation, as well as all states that are guarantors of the Dayton Peace Agreement, to refrain from any statements that do not contribute to peace and stability, including the mention of unidentified ‘provocations’, and we expect them to support the functioning of the state in accordance with the Constitution and laws, and in the interest of citizens,” said Turkovic.
In the end, she concluded that comments like this are a kind of confirmation that there are indeed reasons to maintain the international military presence in BiH, and in accordance with the interest and support of the citizens of BiH, Klix.ba writes.
E.Dz.
