NATO is currently facing the most dangerous and unpredictable security environment since the Cold War. This will be discussed on July 11 and 12 in Vilnius, Lithuania, and one of the topics on the sidelines of the summit will be Bosnia and Herzegovina.
As Klix.ba learns, NATO members have been seriously and carefully discussing the security situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina for some time after the dangerous secessionist moves made by the president of the entity RS Milorad Dodik and the crisis that threatens to escalate in the Balkans.
In five days, NATO leaders will meet to address the most pressing challenges for the Alliance, further strengthen NATO’s deterrence and defense, and bring Ukraine closer to the North Atlantic Alliance.
However, it seems that NATO members led by the United States of America should act preventively in the Balkans at all costs and prevent destabilization and secessionist plans directed by the pro-Russian player Milorad Dodik and his coalition partners who blindly follow him.
This is supported by the statement of US President Joe Biden, who, during the conversation with BiH ambassador Sven Alkalaj, said that in the coming period, he will undertake certain things for the betterment of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The entry of NATO soldiers into Bosnia and Herzegovina with the aim of ensuring a stable situation would mean the activation of Annex 1A of the Dayton Peace Agreement – Agreement on Military Aspects of the Peace Solution.
In the General Framework Agreement for Peace, under Annex 1A, it is written:
“It is understood and agreed that NATO may establish such forces that will operate under the authority and subject to the leadership and political direction of the North Atlantic Council (“NAC”) through the NATO command structure. They undertake to facilitate their operations. Therefore, the parties hereby agree and freely undertake to fully comply with all obligations set forth in this Annex.
It is understood and agreed that other countries may assist in the implementation of the military aspect of this Annex. The parties know and agree that the modalities of the participation of those countries will be the subject of an agreement between those participating countries and NATO,” it is stated, among other things, in Article 1: General obligations of Annex 1A – Agreement on military aspects of the peace settlement.
The purpose of these obligations is as follows:
“Establish a permanent cessation of hostilities. No entity will threaten another entity or use force against it, and the military forces of one or the other entity will not under any circumstances enter the territory of the other entity or stay there without the consent of the government of the other entity and the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. All armed forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina will act in accordance with the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” it states, among other things.
We should not forget that last weekend Milorad Dodik announced new attacks on BiH institutions (SIPA, the Court and the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH) and, as he said: “strengthening the entity line, whatever that means”.
And former high representative Christian Schwarz-Schilling recently called on the international community to sanction Dodik and urgently send intervention troops to the most important geostrategic location – Brčko District.
NATO long ago sent a loud and clear message that the Western Balkans is a region of strategic importance for NATO and that NATO is strongly committed to the region.
The commander of the NATO headquarters in Sarajevo, among other things, has certain powers and responsibilities according to the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Dayton Peace Agreement), and they mainly relate to preserving the integrity and cohesion of the Armed Forces of BiH.
We should not forget that BiH and NATO have close ties and that the commitment of the North Atlantic Alliance is to help build peace, security and prosperity of the state of BiH.
