The current Chairman of Bosnia’s tripartite Presidency, Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, frequently voices “contradictory statements,” Security Minister Dragan Mektic told N1 on Wednesday, explaining why he does not trust Dodik.
Mektic was commenting on Dodik’s latest statement that the leaders of the main political parties in Bosnia have agreed on how to form the government.
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Six months after Bosnia's general election, leaders of three political parties which won most of the votes discussed the distribution of ministerial posts in the state government on Wednesday. The meeting took place between Dodik, who is the leader of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), Bakir Izetbegovic, the leader of the Party for Democratic Action (SDA), and Dragan Covic, the leader of the Croat Democratic Union (HDZ BiH).
Bosnia’s Government – called the Council of Ministers – has not been formed yet mostly because the Bosniak member of the tripartite Presidency from the SDA said he refuses to greenlight the proposed prime minister because the candidate is opposed to the country's path towards NATO membership.
Bosnia has previously pursued NATO membership but in recent years Bosnian Serb politicians have changed their mind and the next candidate for the prime minister comes from Dodik’s party which is strongly opposed to membership in the alliance.
Dodik said that the three are close to agreeing but Mektic said he does not believe him.
“I think that they have not agreed on anything. I think they spoke about some easier issues and topics, distribution of sectors. But when some essential topics and problems emerged – you saw it, they split,” Mektic said.
Izetbegovic earlier told reporters that the meeting “got stuck atn the activation of the (NATO’s) Membership Action Plan (MAP).”
“That’s the moment when Mr. Dodik ended the session. We couldn’t agree on it,” the Bosniak leader said.
Dodik also spoke to reporters, saying that his party will not support MAP.
“That’s a constitutional matter, far above the matter of forming the Council of Ministers,” he said.
Mektic reminded that Dodik said several times that an agreement on forming the government will be achieved by the end of the week but the Security Minsiter does not think it will happen.
“I don’t believe him because of his controversial statements,” Mektic said.
He said Dodik spoke at the opening of the Sarajevo Business Forum that same morning and called on foreigners to invest in Bosnia because it is a stable country while he has previously been saying that Bosnia is an ‘impossible’ country.
“Who is he manipulating with? You cannot manipulate with serious investors, they are not stupid or crazy,” the Security Minister said.
Dodik “frequently changes his opinions,” Mektic said.
“NATO membership was acceptable for him a few years ago. Now it is not. It is a serious issue they cannot agree on, and it doesn’t exclude the possibility that Dodik returns to his stance from a few years ago, and it becomes acceptable for him,” he said.
As for activating Bosnia’s Membership Action Plan (MAP), an essential step in Bosnia’s path towards becoming a member of the Alliance, as well as on the issue of sending NATO Bosnia’s Annual National Plan (ANP), Mektic said that it should not be obstructed.
“I would like the problem to be solved in a regional context and that Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia join NATO at the same time,” he said, adding that “it would decrease regional tensions.”
“We would achieve far more in regard to stability, peace and security,” he said.
