Carpenter for Patria: US disagrees with Moscow, we will continue to strongly support BiH on its path to NATO

Michael Carpenter, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, Eurasia and the Western Balkans is visiting Sarajevo. He participated with US President Barack Obama in the work of the NATO Summit in Warsaw held on July 8 and 9. After that, he continued his visits to the Western Balkan countries - Albania, Macedonia, Serbia, Podgorica, and is now in BiH.

In addition to official meetings with BiH officials, Carpenter gave an interview to BiH news agencies today.

A question from a Patria news agency journalist concerned the possibility of accelerated admission of BiH into NATO membership.

PATRIA: Given the fact that the Balkans are constantly spoken of as a powder keg where war could erupt again, with the focus always being on BiH, is it possible to activate the MAP for our country and speed up the process of BiH's admission to NATO membership, which would, to a certain extent, guarantee security not only for BiH but also for the region? We all know that in 1999, some countries were rapidly placed under the NATO umbrella due to certain "higher political goals". Isn't the situation in the Balkans one of those higher goals, and wouldn't such admission only accelerate reforms in BiH and stop obstructions?

CARPENTER: I agree that NATO integration will accelerate the reform process in BiH, and that is why the US strongly supports your government's efforts on the path to Euro-Atlantic integration. But I do not agree that the countries admitted earlier did not meet the conditions.

The MAP action plan and the conditions that must be met have existed since 1999. BiH has an annual country plan that outlines the goals and criteria that must be met. I repeat, the US strongly supports the aspirations of this country, the process that BiH is going through, the reforms that are beneficial for BiH and the entire region, but the criteria must be met for admission to NATO.

I mentioned the issue of registering military property at the meeting with the members of the BiH Presidency. It has been partially fulfilled. It is up to the state of BiH to complete this process. The US cannot do it instead of you. You must do it yourselves, just like any country aspiring to NATO and EU membership.

PATRIA: Besides internal obstructions, external influences are also crucial when it comes to BiH's progress on the path to NATO. You are an expert on Russia. How do you comment on the fact that Russia is the main brake on the path of certain countries towards NATO, including BiH, and how to stop it?

CARPENTER: The issue of Russian influence was one of the two main issues at the Warsaw Summit. Primarily, this Russian revanchism and threats are felt in Ukraine and Georgia, but Russia's interests also extend to the Western Balkans. Russia has already designated NATO integration as a process it does not support. My message is that the US believes that every country has its sovereign right to decide its own future, and that no third country from the outside should have a veto right to prevent a country from deciding to join NATO or the EU. This is the individual choice of each country in Europe.

The US disagrees with Moscow on this, and we will continue to support every country on its path to NATO.

BIOGRAPHY

Before coming to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Carpenter worked at the White House as a special advisor to the Vice President for Europe and Eurasia. Previously, he worked at the White House as Director for Russia at the National Security Council.

During his 12-year career at the State Department, Carpenter held various positions, including Deputy Director of the Office of Russian Affairs, where he wrote speeches for the Deputy Secretary of State for Political Affairs for NATO and Russia, served as an officer in the Office of Regional Political and Military Affairs, and was an advisor in the South Caucasus. He also worked at the US embassies in Slovenia and Barbados.