Croatian Ambassador Holds Talks at BiH Presidency

SARAJevo, (Patria) - At the invitation of the office of the Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Željko Komšić, a meeting was held today at the BiH Presidency between advisors Branimir Jukić and Slaven Kovačević with the Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia, Ivan Sabolić. The BiH Presidency stated that the reason for the meeting was "unacceptable statements by the President of the Republic of Croatia, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović about Bosnia and Herzegovina during her visit to Israel, made to the Jerusalem Post".

Ambassador Sabolić presented the official position of the Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Croatia that the mentioned statements are not true and that the President of the Republic of Croatia never made such a statement.

Advisors to the Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina emphasized that it happens too often that certain statements by the President of the Republic of Croatia end up in the media, only to be denied later, such as the statement about ten thousand extremists in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that reactions to the statements come not only from Bosnia and Herzegovina but also from Croatia. The fact that it took the president too long to deny the controversial statement in the media was also highlighted.

Ambassador Sabolić stated that he condemns and expresses a strong protest against all statements from BiH, and especially the statement by the BiH Presidency member Šefik Džaferović, in which the controversial and "non-existent" statement by the President of the Republic of Croatia was brought into the context of a final judgment on the war-time joint criminal enterprise.

Furthermore, Ambassador Sabolić's attention was drawn to incursions by armed members of the Croatian police into the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Bosanska Krajina region, which directly violates the territorial integrity and sovereignty of BiH.

We believe, as stated by the Office of the Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Željko Komšić, that such situations can cause "not only misunderstandings but can escalate in an undesirable direction."

During the talks, Croatian officials were invited to analyze the European Commission's Opinion on Bosnia and Herzegovina's candidate status for membership in the European Union, so as not to call for solutions that are in conflict with the opinion itself, the statement said.

The offer was also reiterated to the leadership of the Republic of Croatia, especially the president, to discuss this and other open issues through direct contacts.