BiH Presidency Member Denis Bećirović met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, as part of the activities of the international conference marking the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement.
This is the fourth meeting between Bećirović and Rutte in the last six months, which confirms the intensity and strategic importance of relations between Bosnia and Herzegovina and NATO, the BiH Presidency announced.
Bećirović thanked Rutte for NATO’s consistent and concrete support for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He stressed that NATO membership remains one of the key foreign policy goals of Bosnia and Herzegovina, defined through decisions of state institutions, and that the Alliance is the best guarantor of peace and stability, both for Bosnia and Herzegovina and for the entire region.
“Pro-Russian politicians from the Republika Srpska entity must know that decisions on NATO are made in the state bodies of Bosnia and Herzegovina and not in the non-competent entity bodies, and that laws and strategic documents on NATO have been unanimously adopted in the state bodies of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” he stressed.
During the conversation, Bećirović informed Rutte about the escalation of attacks by the authorities of the Republika Srpska entity on the constitutional order of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He particularly warned of dangerous threats of armed force against state agencies. He emphasized that such irresponsible activities are aimed at destabilizing Bosnia and Herzegovina and disrupting peace in the entire region.
Bećirović emphasized the importance of intensifying cooperation between Bosnia and Herzegovina and NATO, especially in the reform segments, using the Membership Action Plan as a key mechanism for cooperation with the Alliance. He also pointed out the importance of the highest possible level of implementation of the NATO initiative for building the defense capacities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the adoption and implementation of the Individual Tailored Partnership Program, all with the aim of quality preparation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for NATO membership.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte reiterated NATO’s strong commitment to preserving the security of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the stability of the entire Western Balkans. He particularly emphasized that Bosnia and Herzegovina must remain a unified and multiethnic state.
