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.
E.Dz.
