Komšić: For BiH, leaving it outside NATO is a greater danger than the return of ISIL fighters

(Patria) - French President Emmanuel Macron stated in an interview with the British magazine The Economist that Bosnia and Herzegovina is a "ticking time bomb" right next to Croatia, i.e., the EU border. In response to these claims by Macron, the Chairman of the BiH Presidency Željko Komšić told the reputable Financial Times that "the security risk of leaving BiH outside the Euro-Atlantic space and NATO membership is far more dangerous for Bosnia than the return of jihadists."

Macron called BiH a "ticking time bomb" due to the return of participants from foreign battlefields.

Željko Komšić, a Croat who currently chairs the tripartite Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, responded to the Financial Times that his country has not experienced any problems "with the small number of foreign fighters" returning to BiH.

Larger countries like France are facing their own problems “with various kinds of extremist ideologies and groups,” he added.

A far more dangerous problem for BiH than returning jihadists is "the security risk of leaving BiH outside the Euro-Atlantic space and NATO membership," Komšić stated.

The Chairman of the BiH Presidency Željko Komšić yesterday informed the French ambassador to BiH, Guillaume Rousson, about the precise data available to Bosnia and Herzegovina and partner countries regarding the number of individuals who were, or still are, on foreign battlefields, as well as the number of fatalities, those prosecuted, and the exact number of women and children.

The Chairman of the BiH Presidency emphasized that Bosnia and Herzegovina successfully participates in the fight against terrorism and extremism, as evidenced by the assessments of partner countries. 

Komšić informed Ambassador Rousson that participation in foreign armed formations is a criminal offense under BiH legislation, and provided the exact number of returnees from foreign battlefields prosecuted so far. Additionally, Chairman Komšić highlighted that there have been no terrorist attacks in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

He reiterated the invitation to the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, to visit Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was recently extended to him by the member of the BiH Presidency Šefik Džaferović, so that he could personally assess the situation, among other things, in this area in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Komšić reiterated that Bosnia and Herzegovina is aware of the danger of global terrorism and is fully committed to fighting this evil, and that in this regard, the French Republic, as well as other countries affected by terrorism, can count on the support of Bosnia and Herzegovina.