NATO is ready to activate the Membership Action Plan (MAP) as soon as BiH solves the issue of military property, said the NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen after the meeting with members of the BiH Presidency.
He said that the solution to the problem of immovable military assets implies that it is registered as state property.
He also thanked the members of the BiH Presidency on the contribution they have made to the BiH Armed Forces in the peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan.
‘’This showed the BiH wishes to become a guarantor of security, and that it is committed to contributing to international stability’’, said Rasmussen.
Rasmussen assessed that BiH would benefit from NATO and EU integration.
‘’Look at the countries in Central and Eastern Europe and you will see how they have benefited from NATO and EU membership. They enjoy security, which has attracted foreign investments. BiH could have the same if there is political will, and the people of BiH deserve this’’, said the NATO Secretary General.
Rasmussen urged the political leaders of BiH to allow the people of this country to have the same opportunities that the people of Central and Eastern Europe have. These countries entered the Alliance 10 years ago.
He mentioned that NATO is ready to assist in the efforts, but that only BiH can implement the necessary reforms in order to achieve the goals from which the citizens in both entities would benefit.
He reiterated that NATO is prepared to activate the MAP as soon as BiH solves the issue of immovable military assets, and that the assets should be registered as state property.
‘’The solution to this issue will benefit all: the state will receive the assets that it needs, and the rest will go to the entities and municipalities that will use or sell them in order to help the citizens’’, explained Rasmussen. He also said that the solution would show that political decisions in BiH are being implemented, and that all sides in BiH can reach a consensus and work together for the same goal.
He recalled that almost a year ago the main political parties in BiH reached an agreement on immovable military assets.
‘’The implementation of this agreement is a condition for the activation of the MAP. NATO welcomes this political agreement, but it is up to you to take the next step and implement the agreement that you adopted and register immovable military assets as state property’’, said Rasmussen.
The Chairman of the BiH Presidency Nebojša Radmanović hopes that the visit of the NATO Secretary General will indicate a step forward for BiH.
He said that he spoke with Rasmussen on the current cooperation of BiH and NATO, which has already passed through a number of successful phases.
During the discussion, it was concluded that they are successfully working on reform of the BiH armed forces and that BiH is a partner to NATO in its missions throughout the world.
When it comes to issues of further steps regarding BiH’s path to NATO, Radmanović said that there are two problems.
‘’One problem is NATO skepticism that exists in one part of BiH, in the RS, and that we will have to work in the future and to explain how it came about and to overcome the skepticism’’, explained Radmanović.
The second problem is a technical setback of BiH, which is the resolution of the issue of immovable military assets.
Radmanović said that there is significant progress in solving this problem, which is still in front of the political leaders of this country, while the Presidency has completed its part of the work.
After the meeting in the BiH Presidency, it is expected that Rasmussen will hold meetings with other BiH and international officials, as well as leaders of the biggest political parties.
