Arifhodžić: Bećirović's initiative useful, Italy attaches paramount importance to relations with BiH

(Patria) - The cabinet of the BiH Presidency Chairman Denis Bećirović issued a statement today following criticism of his initiative to the Italian parliament to adopt a resolution supporting the independence and sovereignty of BiH.

The statement is signed by Bećirović's diplomatic advisor, Ambassador Nerkez Arifhodžić, and can be read in full below.

"It is highly commendable that certain portals are following with interest the intensive and well-thought-out international activities of the BiH Presidency Chairman Denis Bećirović, as well as his official visit to the Republic of Italy.

The most important fact for the citizens of our country is that Bećirović represented Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Republic of Italy in a very impressive, successful, and dignified manner.

We can all be proud of how the Chairman of the BiH Presidency was received in Rome, something we have not witnessed in the last 17 years.

It was very pleasant to hear the importance that interlocutors attach to improving relations and discussing what can be mutually beneficial for the future.

It is particularly important for all of us how the hosts in Italy showed respect for Bećirović and his policy of accelerating Bosnia and Herzegovina's movement towards the EU and NATO.

Parliaments of numerous friendly countries have been adopting resolutions and declarations of support for Bosnia and Herzegovina for years, in which they particularly emphasize the importance of supporting the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of BiH.

Among others, the parliaments of the USA, the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, and numerous other countries have done so.

The US Congress, in addition to several adopted resolutions, has even adopted a law supporting the sovereignty and indivisibility of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Furthermore, the European Parliament has on several occasions adopted resolutions and other acts clearly supporting the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of our homeland.

The resolutions adopted in the parliaments of some of the most important countries in the world sufficiently indicate how important it is to further strengthen support for BiH in the parliaments of other countries.

Only individuals who lack sufficient knowledge of foreign policy or who have dishonorable intentions can attack this. There is no doubt that the support of the Italian Parliament would also be useful, especially in light of the latest attempts to undermine the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Indeed, during all meetings in the Republic of Italy, including the meeting with the President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Republic of Italy, Lorenzo Fontana, no one spoke about the notorious fact of mutual recognition of the two states, but rather about support for Bosnia and Herzegovina and strengthening comprehensive cooperation between the two friendly states.

Denis Bećirović's initiative for institutional support from the Republic of Italy for our country, also in the form of a parliamentary declaration, is particularly welcome at the current moment in Bosnia and Herzegovina when certain destructive forces are questioning its stability.

Especially after the recent unequivocal support from friendly Italy during the adoption of the Resolution on the Genocide in Srebrenica, which was also initiated and led by Bećirović.

As a member of the BiH Presidency delegation on an official visit to the Republic of Italy, and a former ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to this friendly country, I can bring joy to all of us with the renewed realization that the Republic of Italy attaches paramount importance to relations with BiH.

This was best expressed by the President of the Republic of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, who said that our country is a 'gem in Europe' and of 'emblematic significance' for the processes on our continent.

In conclusion, I am fully convinced that the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina know how to clearly distinguish facts from commissioned and unfounded texts," stated Nerkez Arifhodžić in his reaction.