Cović to visit Radončić, Izetbegović believes SBB will no longer block Parliament's work

Representatives of SDA and HDZ BiH held a meeting at the BH Presidency to discuss the situation in the Federation.

Absent from the meeting was SBB, the third coalition partner. Some participants said that the meeting was actually about the relationship between the two parties.

SDA President Bakir Izetbegović said that the meeting was initiated, and rightfully so, by HDZ leader Dragan Čović.

- Some things neither go fast enough nor well enough. Laws and investments should be implemented much faster. ODRAZ funding is stuck, funding for removal of refugee collective centers should be accelerated. We also talked about personnel placement, said Izetbegović adding that representatives of SBB will be invited to the next meeting.

- I think that we have overcome the situation of a few days ago. Therefore, the situation in which SBB wanted to divert attention to the situation of Fahrudin Radončić, so it did not take part in discussion nor it voted at the Federal Parliament, said Izetbegović.

HDZ leader Dragan Čović thinks that the meeting provided answers they were looking for.

- And that is to continue working intensively on reform agenda and master plan that has been adopted, because lately, a question whether we are together and whether this is a true partnership keeps re-surfacing. Very soon we will attempt the same meeting for BH level because I think that we go about things too slow, we are too slow in agreeing, and if we want serious investing momentums and if we want to stabilize the situation in Federation, we have to show that the partnership works, said Čović.

He also said that Parliament BiH saw an overvote.

- Today we concluded: that mustn't happen ever again. We have to first sit and agree and then it should run smoothly. Dynamics that we have had over the past 5-6 months has recently started to differ from what we wanted. Prime Minister told us that he slowly starts to get a feeling that his space for action is being reduced. We have to change that, said Čović.

Asked if SBB was discussed in the meeting, Čović said:

- It is difficult to have such communication because there is no SBB President; otherwise it could send a wrong message, it would be like we are meeting without SBB president. I will check with my associates and visit Mr. Radončić one of these days, and talk with him like a friend and a colleague. I see no alternative for this partnership, regardless of what others say. I am certain that SBB representatives and Radončić will understand that. I wish for him to be able to meet the temptations, said Čović, adding that SBB representatives should be understood:

- Every once in a while they want to show that their president is subject to some activities that have no foundations in legal framework, and they want to present that as a political lynch. Let's not speculate about that right now; I hope to visit Radončić and discuss those things, added Čović.