While Bećirović avoided serious world addresses, and Konaković argued, Čović and Dodik were building powerful allies

(Patria) - At the invitation of US President Donald Trump's administration, BiH Presidency member Željka Cvijanović, acting President of Republika Srpska Ana Trišić Babić, and SNSD leader Milorad Dodik attended the Prayer Breakfast in Washington today.

At the very least, this could be characterized as a defeat for Bosnian-Herzegovinian diplomacy, because no one from our state leadership was in the capital of the United States today except for those who hate Bosnia and Herzegovina and would gladly destroy it.

Politicians in Republika Srpska have a goal and a strategy

Amel Delić, a professor at the Faculty of Administration at the University of Sarajevo, emphasizes in an interview with the Patria News Agency (NAP) that it is very important to be involved in diplomatic circles, which pro-Bosnian oriented politicians are insufficiently or almost not at all doing in this term.

- It is indicative that exclusively representatives from the Republika Srpska entity were in such company this time, and this gains particular significance after most of them were on the US administration's blacklist just a few months ago.

And let's recall that the ruling political structures in Bosnia and Herzegovina, primarily from the Trojka parties, publicly stated that the political careers of Milorad Dodik, Željka Cvijanović, and their associates were on their last legs - says Delić.

However, the professor continues, it is evident that politicians in Republika Srpska have a clearly defined goal and strategy.

- When the public in Bosnia and Herzegovina viewed information about them paying lobbyists and opening certain offices of the Republika Srpska entity in Brussels, the US, and other world power centers with disdain a few years ago, they were actually strategically working on it - emphasizes Delić.

He stresses that the world has lost its compass in recent years regarding norms of international law, the rule of law, humanity, and even some decades-long geostrategic alliances.

- And when all of that is shaken, it seems that Milorad Dodik is very skillfully using that situation, but it is definite that he is not alone in this. We will recall that the Council of the President of Republika Srpska was formed a few years ago, comprising around fifty professors and other prominent experts.

Although they are walking a tightrope, it is evident that they are trying to act on multiple fronts simultaneously, hoping for a favorable geopolitical moment. And I believe they expected Russia to have much more success in the aggression against Ukraine and for that to coincide with Donald Trump's return to power.

And that they would use such an environment of inadequate interest in BiH to achieve their goals – which has ceased to be the focus of world powers, as the US at one point left this region to European powers.

In this regard, we saw a clumsy struggle between Great Britain and Germany, but generally also among other EU countries for dominance in this region. They did not handle it well, despite having big plans.

Germany tried to act through Aleksandar Vučić, the British through Dodik and some other structures in the Balkans. However, they did not handle it well, and I think the US is gradually returning this region to its focus, and Dodik has recognized this very clearly - points out Delić.

Perhaps Dodik, the professor adds, will achieve some minor or even bad results, but he will certainly build a long-term strategy and wait for a favorable moment for himself.

- They are preparing certain working bodies, certain acts, then testing the power of the judiciary in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and each time they try to take a step further, maintaining a heated atmosphere.

And in doing so, they hope that at some point they will receive a signal or be able to exploit the carelessness of both domestic political actors and some major world players to achieve their secessionist activities - notes Delić.

He recalls that, for example, in Serbia, they have had a clear strategy since the 19th century, according to which they sent young men to study in France, England, and other major world centers, where they developed their diplomatic network.

Serbs know how to act strategically

- Then we will recall that during the breakup of Yugoslavia, Serbs held all key ambassadorial positions in the world, and they were able to present "their truth" and promote their agenda.

Serbs very clearly know how to act strategically, from training personnel, developing a diplomatic network, to the unity of institutions, but also a general social unity through the Serbian Orthodox Church. They have everything that Bosnia and Herzegovina lacks.

True, Bosnia and Herzegovina underwent that historical transformation and renewed its independence, but let's be honest, it has not navigated diplomatic flows and certain diplomatic strategies very well - said Delić.

He believes that Bosnian-Herzegovinian diplomacy has experienced a complete collapse in the current term.

- In a situation where the member of the BiH Presidency, Denis Bećirović, has almost no meetings with international officials, fights with statements, open letters, and does not know how to strategically redirect Bosnia and Herzegovina's position in this very turbulent period.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Elmedin Konaković, has spent most of his term criticizing his predecessor Bisera Turković or generally waging his own war with SDA and their officials.

On social media, he engages in pointless debates with citizens, tries to suppress media freedom through multiple attacks on certain journalists and media outlets. In fact, he is doing everything he shouldn't be doing.

On the other hand, we have a situation where, in this term, HDZ effectively had its personal High Representative, whom we can call an honorary member of HDZ, considering how Christian Schmidt behaved.

He absolutely indulged all of HDZ's wishes, outside of all political norms in the world, legal norms, and certain international standards. He imposed solutions that are nowhere near recognized, exclusively to strengthen HDZ's position to be an unavoidable factor in political life - Delić told us.

Dragan Čović and his HDZ BiH, he adds, are lobbying through HDZ Croatia and some other channels for a new High Representative, strategically preparing the ground.

- The name Max Primorac, whose radical views we are all more or less aware of, is very often mentioned in those circles as a potential new High Representative. So, HDZ is absolutely not sitting idly by, nor is SNSD and the policy of the Republika Srpska entity.

Only the Trojka parties and their officials are engaged in idle talk, instead of a serious strategic approach to diplomacy and politics in general - emphasizes Professor Delić.

He stressed that Bosnia and Herzegovina is no longer in the primary focus of world powers, as it was in the 1990s. Many world officials, he adds, do not know enough about the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Bluff and strategic lobbying

- We saw that US Congresswoman addressed Željka Cvijanović, with whom she met, as the President of Bosnia and Herzegovina. From this, I got the impression that she actually doesn't know what the constitutional setup of Bosnia and Herzegovina is with a three-member Presidency and who Željka Cvijanović actually is.

Political officials from the Republika Srpska entity may be bluffing their way through this situation to approach some of these world officials, but on the other hand, there is certainly strategic lobbying. Because it is not a small thing that Željka Cvijanović met with the US Secretary of Commerce - considers Delić.

He assessed as a defeat that Bosnia and Herzegovina has fallen out of the focus of world politics and lacks adequate representation of facts about its situation, allowing its haters and destroyers to skillfully use this opportunity, acting on the principle that "a lie repeated many times can be taken as truth," to reach key world powers thanks to the passivity of official BiH diplomacy.

- On the other hand, Bosnia and Herzegovina is small. International law, international standards, we see this in multiple examples around the world - from Gaza to other cases - essentially do not apply, only interest applies.

And I think that, for example, Kosovo understood this in time and effectively became an outpost of the United States in the Balkans. They knew how to wisely use that position.

And now, in fact, if there is any economic interest, if there are certain natural resources that can be exploited, only then will we be in the focus of major world powers - notes Delić.

- This is precisely one of the reasons why Milorad Dodik has remained in power so far. Let's recall the General Elections in 2022, when Jelena Trivić declared victory at an evening press conference, and Milorad Dodik declared victory in the morning.

There is very serious information that Jelena Trivić was indeed the winner and that she was promoted by the policies of Aleksandar Vučić and Germany at that time, but that Milorad Dodik promised huge concessions in terms of lithium exploitation in the wider Zvornik area at the last moment, and that this was decisive for some other world powers to support him and for certain manipulations of election results to occur, which led to him remaining in power.

We see even now in these elections in Republika Srpska that the difference between the two blocs is minimal, but precisely this – whoever offers more in terms of selling public resources, and whoever lobbies better and presents it in some important world centers, regardless of international law, regardless of the results of the aggression in Bosnia and Herzegovina, regardless of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, will have an advantage over others - concludes Professor Delić in an interview with NAP.

(D.K.)