Sabina Cudic, a member of Nasa stranka (Our Party) and a member of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), stated that Matthew Palmer’s engagement was deeply compromised and that the United States (U.S.) administration should distance itself from him.
On her Facebook profile, Cudic recalled an unpleasant meeting with Palmer in 2019 in Washington, when she warned Palmer that the exchange of territories between Kosovo and Serbia would be catastrophic for BiH and the entire Balkans, for which he openly advocated.
“I met Mr. Palmer in Washington in April 2019, in the evening, at a reception after a panel where I was a speaker together with Pristina Mayor Shpend Ahmeti, who was then a member of the Kosovo negotiating team. Our conversation became awkward after a few minutes, when I asked him directly if he was aware of the implications of his support (potentially authorship) for the idea of exchanging territory between Kosovo and Serbia, “Cudic told.
Further, she added that earlier that day, an official of the Serbian Embassy in Washington told her that an agreement had been reached and that a favorable moment was being waited for to present the agreement as historic.
“In a conversation with Mr. Palmer, we were joined by Vlora Citaku, then Kosovo’s ambassador to Washington. Witnessing the escalation of disagreements with Palmer, in his defense – she nervously asked me why I was interfering in the agreement to be reached between Kosovo and Serbia? I said to her that the catastrophic implications of such an agreement for BiH are unquestionable, as well as for the entire Balkans, ” noted Cudic.
She mentioned that the plan for the exchange of territory between Serbia and Kosovo was stopped by the Kosovo opposition in 2019 with its strong engagement in the European Union (EU) and the U.S. Senate.
In this regard, Cudic emphasized that before meeting with anyone in BiH, Palmer would have to announce his leaked letter, which deals with the goals of the previous and next visit to BiH, which clearly shows that he does not plan to carry out any pressure on the most destructive forces.
“On the contrary, they are his main counterparts. The U.S.administration should distance himself from Mr. Palmera – whose engagement, as it is now proved by the documents – is deeply compromised,” explained Cudic.
She pointed out that today in the Congress there will be a special hearing on the U.S. engagement in the Balkans and an opportunity to problematize the U.S. position regarding possible sanctions for Dodik, the Election Law, relations with the Office of the High Representative (OHR), and the U.S. commitment to BiH’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
“Presenting this kind of information is not a well-established practice and is not a kind of sensationalism that I support.However, the seriousness of the situation that BiH is facing, in my opinion, requires urgent engagement and reactions. I call on colleagues whose goal is stability and perspective for the purpose of this goal, to announce, engage, and instruct the U.S.administration to protest against such decision-making related to BiH and the Balkans,” concluded Cudic.
E.Dz.
Source: klix.ba
