Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bisera Turkovic, at her invitation, held an official meeting on Monday with the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Bosnia and Herzegovina Petr Ivantsov, asking for clarification regarding the statement which he gave in the media on the circumstances of Bosnian path to NATO.
Ambassador Ivantsov stated that the Russian Federation supports the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the equality of its three constituent peoples.
He reiterated the position that Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a sovereign and internationally recognized state, has the right to decide for itself which bloc to join and that this decision is exclusively within the competence of BiH and its peoples and citizens.
He emphasized the position of the Russian Federation is to have a stabilizing role in the Balkans, but also that it believes that the NATO military bloc does not contribute to peace and stability in the Balkans.
For her part, minister Turkovic pointed out that until now, political leaders in BiH have made all decisions concerning foreign policy by consensus, although this has not always been an easy process.
She added that the Reform Program, which was sent to NATO, was harmonized in the same manner.
She expressed belief that the Russian Federation is a friend of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and pointed out that she expects all friends to respect the decisions made by the peoples and citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the future.
