BETWEEN CIVILIZATION AND BARBARISM: Bosnian leaders will be 'swept away' from the political scene

(Patria) - However the Russian invasion of Ukraine ends, Bosnia and Herzegovina will definitely feel the repercussions on its own 'skin'.

Above all, this refers to political relations and the existing partnerships of leading Bosnian leaders, which will inevitably undergo changes. It is impossible, after the catastrophic war started by Russia, to expect the 'axis' of Dodik-Čović, which was highly susceptible to the influence of Belgrade and Moscow, to be maintained, writes Dnevni list.

Indecisiveness and lukewarmness in condemning Russian aggression place the leaders of SNSD and HDZ BiH on thin ice, through which, with every subsequent wrong move, they could fall into the abyss.

Take a clear stand

You are either with us or against us. Europe and the US could, in the shortest possible time, pose such a question to Bosnian leaders, and their political future will definitely depend on the answer. So far, we have witnessed Dodik's 'neutrality' and Čović's 'lukewarmness'. Neither of them condemned Russian aggression, and their 'back-and-forth' reactions in recent days speak volumes that both are in a 'discrepancy'.

Yesterday, Dodik again repeated the story of neutrality, i.e., he offered a coordinated stance with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić.

– Just as I support the territorial integrity of Serbia and BiH, I also support the territorial integrity of all UN member states, and I include Ukraine in that, said Milorad Dodik, the BiH Presidency member from the RS, who believes that all other processes and attempts to align BiH with one side would be bad.

-I believe we should remain neutral, and we already stated that in the first days of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, added Dodik, who noted with regret that some, however, think that BiH must urgently take sides and choose a side.

-We will remain completely neutral and will not join either EU sanctions or those of anyone else, the BiH Presidency member from the Serbian people was categorical.

Dragan Čović, on the other hand, did not offer a stance equal to that of Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, who announced full support for Ukraine, even in terms of armament.

Warning

Yesterday, Europe again clearly demanded that BiH take a clear stance on Russian aggression as soon as possible.

-The EU wants BiH to stand with the Union when it comes to foreign policy towards Ukraine. Your country has applied for EU membership, and therefore you are expected to align your foreign policy with the EU's foreign policy. That is why we ask BiH to join the EU position; the EU wants BiH to stand with the Union! As for the question of how the situation in Ukraine will affect BiH and the Western Balkans, we currently do not see a spillover of the crisis. But we must plan carefully. That is part of the explanation for why we have practically doubled the number of EUFOR soldiers in BiH from 600 to 1,100. I think that is the right signal at the right time. We made that decision out of precaution because we do not see any immediate threat, but the signal came at the right time, stated Johann Sattler, Head of the EU Delegation and EU Special Representative in BiH.

Given the seriousness of the situation in the world, the US and EU will almost certainly no longer tolerate the 'wrangling' of Bosnian chieftains over key state issues (blockade of institutions, election law, deteriorated economic situation...), and some information even points towards their complete removal from the political stage. With that, their systems that have produced corruption for years would also fall. The 'third' side, the so-called 'Sarajevo' side, will not be bypassed either.