Bosnian presidency chairman on NATO

Chairman of Bosnia’s Presidency Haris Silajdžić said that he had received a promise from NATO that Bosnia would join the alliance.

This would happen once it had fulfilled the necessary requests, he explained.

Silajdžić pointed out that the Bosnian Presidency would at the next session discuss surplus armaments, but also sending Bosnian troops to Afghanistan.

He stressed that it was necessary to fulfill the requests for Bosnia-Herzegovina’s accession to NATO’s Membership Action Plan (MAP) as soon as possible “because of possible obstructions from the Republic of Srpska (RS)”.

Silajdžić said on Tuesday,after meeting with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, that RS was led by people “who did not want Bosnia-Herzegovina or NATO”.

“Nevertheless, the majority of the Bosnian citizens want us to become a member of NATO and members of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Presidency are also united regarding this position,” he said.

Commenting on RS Prime Minister Milorad Dodik’s statement that it was time to think about a “peaceful separation” within Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Silajdžić emphasized that those were “only statements which could not have any effect”.

Silajdžić was also quoted as saying that anyone who did not accept Bosnia-Herzegovina “could leave”.

“Those who still speak about the disintegration of Bosnia-Herzegovina are really outside of history,” he was quoted.