US Ambassador Douglas Lute: It depends on BiH when it joins NATO, I don't know how much time you will need

A telephone press briefing was held today with US Ambassador to NATO Douglas Lute, attended by media representatives from across the European region, including the Patria news agency.

At the very beginning of the press conference, Ambassador Lute gave a detailed overview of the structure of the upcoming NATO foreign ministers' meetings to be held on May 19 and 20, 2016, in Brussels.

One of the five announced sessions will concern candidates for NATO membership: Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia.

- It is important to highlight the three candidates for NATO membership, Georgia, Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Their work on preparations for membership is very important, emphasized Ambassador Lute.

When asked by journalists about Bosnia and Herzegovina's accession to NATO, Ambassador Lute replied:

- Everything starts with the decision on membership at the national level. The first and most important step is for the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina to decide whether NATO membership is for them. And then a series of reforms needs to be passed. Hopefully, this will bring you to the point where you receive an invitation for membership. But how much time will pass until then depends on Bosnia and Herzegovina, so I cannot answer that question, nor what the prospects are. It depends on your people and government.

Patria will publish a comprehensive overview of the press conference called by the US Ambassador to NATO, Douglas Lute.