The idea of negotiations and mediation of the presidents of Turkey, Croatia, and Serbia with the so-called representatives of the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in order to resolve the political crisis and blockades in BiH is present for more than 6 months.
Even though there should be nothing disputable in negotiations of any type, in the context proposed by Zoran Milanovic more than half a year ago, and enthusiastically accepted by Milorad Dodik, there is a trap that touches on essential problems and defines BiH as a state of three nations.
The European Union (EU), the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (U.S.) have been following the months-long political problems in BiH as mediators. However, Dodik’s secessionism, undermining state institutions, and reaching an agreement on the election law are still a big burden on the shoulders of this country. In that context, those who see BiH as a state of three nations came up with the idea of organizing an international trilateral between the presidents of Croatia, Serbia,and Turkey, who should seek a compromise with the so-called representatives of the people.
The idea was put forward by Zoran Milanovic, and continued to be developed by Milorad Dodik with the consent of Aleksandar Vucic and Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Such an idea was placed primarily because there is a belief that the Turkish president can influence SDA leader Bakir Izetbegovic, whom they perceive as a representative of Bosniaks.
Serbia and Croatia certainly agree to such a narrative and justify it with their policies in BiH for years, and Turkey has nothing against this idea either because they could prove themselves as an important Balkan player on the BiH political problem.
These negotiations would not be so problematic if the meeting or negotiations were organized at the institutional level. Therefore, BiH in that format would not necessarily be represented by three leaders who either present themselves or someone else presents them as leaders of the constituent peoples. So, from the BiH side, the representatives of institutions (all three members of the Presidency of BiH, the leadership of both houses of the state parliament, or a wide circle of leaders of political parties) should be present, and by no means exclusively Dodik, Covic, and Izetbegovic.
Earlier, when this idea was mentioned, Izetbegovic rejected this type of trilateral, saying that he did not intend to negotiate in this format and that BiH could only be represented by the Presidency of BiH as an institution.
So, if Turkey wants to help resolve the political crisis, it should agree to the institutional framework, and not to the ideas that are obviously dear to Dodik and Milanovic. Such a scenario would annul the idea of BiH as a country of constituent peoples, but also of all other citizens who do not declare themselves that way.
