The area of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the entire area of the Western Balkans, is marked by numerous security challenges and open questions that require not only political engagement but the engagement of the entire community, especially the academic community, it was pointed out today at the opening of the Mostar Security Forum.
Gordan Akrap, founder and president of the Institute for Hybrid Conflict Research, one of the organizers of the Mostar Security Forum, pointed out that the global security architecture has changed significantly and that the Western Balkans area is no longer on the list of priorities of the United States of America, NATO and the European Union.
For the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Akrap assessed, it would be best to rapidly move towards membership in NATO and the European Union.
He reminded that out of the six countries of the Western Balkans, three are members of NATO (Albania, Montenegro and North Macedonia).
“BiH, Serbia and Kosovo remain. BiH has been a member of the Partnership for Peace since 2006, Serbia as well. Although Serbia has declared military neutrality and regardless of its ties with Russia, Serbia has greater and more intensive military cooperation with NATO and in Serbia will have to decide on that process. Russia has shown that its intentions are harmful to both the state and society,” said Akrap.
He warned that Russia, through Serbia, is trying to tie BiH to its energy resources and make the future development of BiH and its stability and security dependent on Russian interests.
“Regardless of the fact that NATO now has other priorities, it should be said that this alliance is the guarantor of security and peace. There is no NATO country that was attacked by someone, and Ukraine would have a hard time defending itself if it were not for the help of partners and friends, primarily from the NATO alliance and the European Union “, Akrap said.
Hybrid war
Croatian member of the European Parliament, Željana Zovko, warned of a hybrid war that, in her words, is being waged in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the entire Western Balkans through social networks and the media.
“The struggle of the European Union at the moment is between the rule of law and autocracy. We see that Putin is trying to continue the war in Ukraine through the minds and hearts of the inhabitants of the European Union and through the loss of trust in the institutions,” said Zovko.
The opening of the Mostar Security Forum was attended by the president of the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HDZ BiH), Dragan Čović, who, in an address to the media, said that for the economic and any other stability of BiH, the most important thing is that key decisions are made in the institutions of the state.
“On our part, the conduct of politics is oriented towards seeking solutions through dialogue, and not through instability and conflicts,” Čović said, Fena news agency writes.
