Sarajevo entered into open conflict with Moscow and the Serbs of Bosnia

The Bosniak ruling elite of Bosnia and Herzegovina responded to the warnings of the Russian Embassy regarding the creation of a State Commission for Cooperation with NATO.

Earlier, the Russian embassy described Sarajevo’s intention to move closer to the Alliance as a “hostile step,” a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.

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The statement of the Russian Embassy in BiH, made after the creation of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Commission for Cooperation with NATO based on the decision of the Council of Ministers of February 24, 2021, greatly agitated the Bosniak Sarajevo elite.

“In the event of a practical rapprochement between Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and NATO, our country will have to respond to this hostile step,” the Russian embassy said in a statement yesterday. “We urge our friends from BiH to think carefully, weigh the pros and cons, and take into account the opinions of all residents of the country, who are far from a unanimous opinion on this issue.”

The response from Sarajevo representatives was not long in coming.

“The objectives of the foreign policy of Bosnia and Herzegovina are determined by the Foreign Policy Strategy. NATO membership in this matter is also determined by the law on defense and the decisions of the Presidency of BiH, the Administration of Bosniak member of the Presidency of BiH Šefik Dzaferović said in a statement. “Bosnia and Herzegovina will continue to follow this path, despite the position and opinion of the Russian Embassy.”

“The position of the Russian Federation that the practical rapprochement of BiH with NATO is a hostile act towards Russia is unfounded and is an expression of the desire to abolish the right of our country to independently conduct its foreign and defense policy,” the oldest and most authoritative Bosniak Islamist party said in a note. Bakir Izetbegovic's Democratic Action Party (PDA). – In 2006, the BiH Parliamentary Assembly adopted a Defense Law by consensus, tracing its path to NATO, and then a series of other decisions and policies confirming its commitment to NATO membership.

All issues concerning the fate and future of Bosnia and Herzegovina will be decided by its institutions and citizens. And no one else."

The party of the former head of the Bosnian Security Council, Fahrudin Radoncic, expressed a similar opinion:

“The Alliance for a Better Future in BiH considers the statement of the Russian Embassy in BiH on cooperation between Bosnia and Herzegovina and NATO to be completely unnecessary and inappropriate.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a sovereign European state, will make decisions regardless of anyone's pressure or threats regarding its institutions of power, its security and defense policies, as well as integration into the EU and Euro-Atlantic integration as the natural goal to which our country strives.

We remind you that the NATO alliance, like the European Union, represents not only the security interests or geostrategic interests of BiH, but also the highest civilizational level of cooperation between states and peoples.”

Let us remind you that Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, is against joining NATO and for the neutral status of the country. However, the actions of the new US administration and the Institute of the High Representative for BiH are aimed at depriving the Serbian entity of subjectivity and the remnants of sovereignty.