Čović: Legitimate representatives of Croats should be part of the government

President of HDZ BiH Dragan Čović stated today that HDZ BiH and SNSD discussed the formation of government as victorious parties within the Croatian and Serbian peoples, and that a given word and an extended hand are worth more than any agreement, reports the Patria news agency.

If we have agreed to enter the government according to some model, consider that for me it is an obligation as if I had certified it before a notary. There is no bilateral agreement signed by HDZ BiH with SNSD, but remember that there is something more than that, and that is a given word and an extended hand - said Čović.

He clarified that he wants legitimate representatives of Croats to be in power, and that he advocates the same for Serbs or Bosniaks. Also, Čović reiterated that the president of SNSD, Milorad Dodik, and his coalition partners convinced him that they would create a majority in the Republika Srpska.

- If he does that, as I expect we will do in five cantons in the Federation of BiH, then no one needs to invite HDZ BiH into the government, because HDZ BiH belongs to the government, just as no one needs to invite SNSD into the government, because it belongs to the government - emphasized Čović.

He also reminded that the first agreement he made with the deputy president of SDA, Bakir Izetbegović, was that the government should be composed of the same structure of parties at all levels so that economic and all other activities in BiH could be initiated.

 - Mr. Izetbegović has at this moment opted for DF and I have nothing against that. Moreover, I spoke with Komšić and Fahrudin Radončić a few days before that, and if their commitment is to form a coalition, conditionally Bosniak, consisting of SDA and DF, that is their choice. Who am I to decide about that, nor do I intend to comment on it - stated Čović. 

Incidentally, the meeting of delegations of SDA and HDZ BiH is on Saturday, and on Friday a session of the Presidency of HDZ BiH will be held.