Izetbegović for BNTV: NATO path can wait until the decision matures in RS

(Patria) - SDA President Bakir Izetbegović told BNTV that the European path is currently the most important thing, while the NATO path can wait.

"There will be no BiH membership in NATO until the decision matures in Republika Srpska as well," Izetbegović said, stating that BiH cannot go backwards because decisions, strategies, and laws have been made, which is why the Constitution and the rule of law in BiH must be respected.

“Dodik proposes that we go back, that we reverse, backwards, from the MAP which was activated nine or ten years ago, that we return to the Partnership for Peace with NATO. We have passed that phase, it is behind us. We cannot go back. We can move forward, it's just a question of speed and what the content of these annual programs and plans we will send is. It can be very reduced, not particularly ambitious. Among other things, we are obliged over time to allocate two percent of GDP for the Armed Forces. We certainly cannot introduce that at this time. So, when we will reach these percentages, to intensive cooperation with NATO, when we will reach the moment when we will decide whether to join NATO. This could be in three, five, fifteen years. It depends on us, but we cannot go back. We must work within the legal framework, and the intensity can be reduced,” Izetbegović points out.

He notes that a compromise needs to be made based on what has already been agreed upon with politicians from Republika Srpska.

“Those who voted for the Defense Law, for strategies that speak of BiH's movement towards NATO membership. Among them, of course, first Milorad Dodik, then Radmanović, who said that everything should be done to move in that direction as soon as possible. So, they voted for it, laws were passed, strategies, decisions were made. We must respect them, it's just a question of intensity, speed of movement. And there will be no membership if there is no will for that membership, but the laws must be respected,” reminds the SDA president.

He confirmed that there will be no new Council of Ministers of BiH without the acceptance of the Annual National Program.

“As far as I'm concerned, the Council of Ministers can be appointed as early as this week, if we find a valid compromise that respects the Constitution and the rule of law. Because if we gave up, allowed the entity to dictate, to command the state, then the dam would break, Pandora's box would open, and who knows what would happen next. Simply, it would be lawlessness. One could say every time from the smorgasbord, well, we don't want this now, we want that now, well, we adopted it, well, we agreed on it, but we don't want it. And then we would go back, that we don't want something, we don't accept it, we give up on the Dayton Peace Agreement,” says the SDA president.