Helez meets with Commander of NATO Headquarters Sarajevo Valas: Informed him about events escalating tensions and causing unrest in BiH

(Patria) - BiH Minister of Defence Zukan Helez held a meeting today with the Commander of NATO Headquarters Sarajevo, Brigadier General Matthew Valas.

At the beginning of the meeting, Minister Helez thanked General Valas for his swift reaction and response to the meeting, and informed him about the events resulting from the All-Serbian Assembly, which are unnecessarily escalating tensions and causing unrest in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"The arrival of military cadets and their parade in Prijedor, a place of the most horrific crimes committed against Bosniaks, the attempt by members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Serbia to enter Bosnia and Herzegovina to assist during the tourist season in our country without the legally required approvals from the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the requests for helicopters of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Serbia to extinguish fires on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, while persistently bypassing the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, specifically the Armed Forces of BiH, to extinguish this fire, have escalated tensions and caused concern among citizens in our country.

I believe that such actions are a consequence of the recently held All-Serbian Assembly and aim to reduce the existing competencies of the state, question the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and attempt to present the territory of the smaller Bosnian entity, Republika Srpska, as an integral part of Serbia and enable the institutions of the neighboring country, Serbia, to operate in the territory of Republika Srpska," stated Helez.

Minister Helez also informed General Valas about the procedures for engaging the Armed Forces of BiH in assisting civilian structures and emphasized that two helicopters of the BiH Armed Forces are on standby to extinguish fires throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Minister Helez welcomed the decision of the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Serbia, Ivica Dačić, that the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Serbia will not send police officers to Republika Srpska (RS), calling it a gesture of a responsible politician.

"We demand that all parties in these events treat Bosnia and Herzegovina as a sovereign and internationally recognized state," emphasized Helez.

The Commander of NATO Headquarters Sarajevo, General Valas, informed Minister Helez that he is closely monitoring the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina within his mandate and gave full support to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In conclusion, Minister Helez thanked General Valas for NATO's continued support to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the recent declaration from the Washington summit, which encompasses what NATO's focus should be in the coming years, relating to the continuation of democratic reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina.