Komšić: BiH's NATO path is blocked thanks to Ambassador Murphy and the "Trojka" he installed in power!

(Patria) - BiH Presidency member Željko Komšić was a guest on Hayat Television tonight. Komšić spoke about current issues, as well as criticisms directed at him by the current authorities and from neighboring countries.

The focus of the conversation was on BiH's path to the Euro-Atlantic alliance, where Komšić emphasized that BiH's path to this alliance stalled with the arrival of the "Trojka" in power. He also referred to the statement by US Ambassador Michael Murphy, who blamed the authorities and the opposition for the stagnation on the NATO path.

"It's both. What's stuck is the Reform Program. Actually, it's the Cooperation Commission that has not been formed at all. It's not just the military and defense. It's a series of other reforms that have stalled and gotten stuck. They haven't moved forward with the new government. Two Reform Plans were sent, which were actually ANPs in the previous convocation. The opposition has no instruments to make decisions. The opposition is not in the Council of Ministers, nor in the ruling majority.

I know why Murphy said that. He is the father of the political authorities in BiH. He is most responsible for the "Trojka" coming to power. He feels the need to shift the blame from himself. NATO was not part of those negotiations for forming the government. He insisted then that the government be formed, and he got what he got. But, I think Murphy hasn't forgotten, but he avoided saying how things stand on the other side. He never explains to us how they, and NATO, take an identical stance to Dodik's, that we agree on that path. What is the possibility of getting Dodik's consent for NATO accession? Why do they act as if consensus must be reached on the NATO path? Why do they adopt the narrative that we should agree? This is repeated in official meetings. And how can we agree with Dodik, with him who we know is a proxy? No one's hands are clean here. It is difficult for us to negotiate anything because we are not delivering what we were supposed to," Komšić says.

When the Reform Program was sent to NATO headquarters, the public was skeptical about BiH's NATO path. Komšić points out that the Americans insisted that the document to be sent to NATO not be called ANP but Reform Program, because it is only a matter of semantics. He adds that the same happened with the NATO Cooperation Commission.

"The Americans changed the name of the Commission. Podžić was against it at the time. Seven days before Dodik's signature, the stance was not to give in to Dodik at all. After seven days, the Americans called us not to insist on it because it was a matter of semantics. The same happened with the Commission. Dodik relented after a year. After that, another reform program was sent. Everything stalled, especially when Murphy installed this government through Schmidt. It's too much to blame those he installed, so he needs to blame the opposition too," says Komšić.

Recently, the director of the CIA, William Burns, also visited BiH. Komšić points out that Burns had visited Sarajevo before, but that he did not bring anything to the BiH Presidency, as could be heard and read in the media.

"Why should I comment after that meeting!? We've known each other since 2010. He visited Sarajevo before. He is serious and polite. He doesn't look like a CIA director at all. It was a protocol meeting. Nothing special. He didn't bring anything to the Presidency. Before that, he had a meeting with the director of OSA. As far as I could gather, the focus of the meetings in the region was on Belgrade," states Komšić.

Komšić points out that BiH's path to the EU has also stalled. He reminded that the Wine Law has not entered into force, adding that the Growth Plan for BiH has been lost. He says that it was actually Dodik who blocked this Reform Program.

"The Wine Law is also important for BiH's EU path. That law has not entered into force either. Everything has stalled except for appointments. Every now and then we have announcements of meetings where something is supposed to be unblocked. This Growth Plan has also been lost for BiH. After all, the canton prime ministers have framed this issue well. You know that Dodik blocked it, and then what didn't suit him was deleted. Then these four prime ministers who rejected that Growth Plan said, let's not lose what we have now," Komšić points out.