Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic-Radman said on Monday the Serb member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency, Milorad Dodik, was a fact and that one should talk with him like with everyone making decisions.

Asked by Croatian reporters covering his visit to Brussels if Dodik was Croatia's friend or problem, Grlic-Radman said, “That's a black-or-white way of looking at it.”

“Dodik is a fact and one should talk with him, especially Croatia, which has its longest border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. We depend on each other and must invest every effort, diplomatic and political, to contribute to a more stable, more prosperous and more functional BiH.”

Grlic-Radman went on to say that the Western Balkans and the situation in BiH were one of the topics of the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, and that he pointed to the rise in unitarism and separatism in BiH.

“It's crucial to change the electoral law so that it guarantees what was arranged with the Dayton peace agreement, the equality and legitimate representation of the constituent peoples in BiH's collective institutions.”

He criticised all those in BiH who are stalling with reaching an agreement on electoral law changes, saying that time is running out as 2022 is an election year. “All those stalling are taking the responsibility and the risk for the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

He said several EU foreign ministers supported his address.

The EU high representative for the foreign and security policy, Josep Borrell, expressed concern at the fact that BiH leaders are not using a non-election year to agree on changes to the electoral law as well as the fact that some politicians in the country are using the rhetoric of division.

He reiterated that the EU supported an integral and sovereign BiH and that it called on all political leaders to sit at the negotiating table.