Turbulent session in the BiH Presidency: Will Dodik's and Komšić's proposals be considered?

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Tomorrow could be an interesting day in the BiH Presidency for several reasons. Two of the three members of the BiH Presidency have requested extraordinary sessions, and ahead of the arrival of Matthew Palmer, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, who will hold a meeting with the members of the BiH Presidency tomorrow.

Milorad Dodik confirmed today in Mostar that he has submitted a request for a session and filed an initiative to move the BiH Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

"Regardless of what Džaferović says about not putting this issue on the agenda, he must, according to the Rules of Procedure, schedule a session of the BiH Presidency. I believe he will do it. I see that they also have some initiatives, I am not against their initiatives... We should discuss them at the session and make decisions about them," Dodik said.

Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Željko Komšić has requested that an extraordinary session also be held tomorrow to consider the recognition of Kosovo.

Dodik stated that Palmer is already aware of the idea of moving the Embassy, and this initiative follows Serbia's commitment in Washington to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem by July 2021.

The Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Šefik Džaferović, assessed Dodik's initiative as politically motivated, saying it will not be on the agenda at all.

"BiH has good diplomatic relations with both the State of Israel and the State of Palestine, with full understanding of the fact that our country respects international legal acts and United Nations resolutions. If Dodik truly wants to improve relations with the USA, as one of BiH's strategic partners, and respect their interests, then he should first and foremost unconditionally respect the Dayton Agreement, and not threaten BiH's territorial integrity every now and then, which is why he ended up on the US blacklist," Džaferović points out.