Komšić for Patria: Dodik certainly has no support from anyone in the US administration for what he is doing, Landau is dissatisfied

(Patria) - Chairman of the BiH Presidency Željko Komšić visited the United States where he met with US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau at the State Department. After this visit, Komšić is going directly to the Munich Security Conference.

He summarized the visit and meetings in Washington for the Patria News Agency.

“So, at the beginning of the meeting with Mr. Landau, he took the opportunity to express his condolences regarding the tragedy that occurred yesterday in Sarajevo, for which we are, of course, immensely grateful. In the continuation of the conversation, the main topics were certainly the construction of the Southern Interconnection, projects in the field of infrastructure, as well as the stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Within the discussion about the Southern Interconnection, it is important to emphasize that we agreed that such large projects and investments by American companies cannot happen without stability, and that is something the US insists on. Therefore, the stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the construction of energy infrastructure, as one form, one sign, that there is an environment in Bosnia and Herzegovina in which American companies can realize projects, perhaps even larger than those we are currently discussing,” says Komšić.

Special attention in the talks was also paid to the recent visit of Milorad Dodik to Washington, where he sought support for the independence of the RS entity. However, Komšić received a very clear stance from the State Department.

“I must say that we were directly told that everything Dodik is doing certainly has no support from anyone, absolutely no one from the American administration, that, as Mr. Landau said, they are very dissatisfied with what he is doing and that this certainly calls into question the thesis about the necessary stability for the realization of infrastructural projects. I also informed him that our Minister of Foreign Affairs sent a letter to Secretary of State Mr. Rubio, as well as to the member states of the UN Security Council, in which we specifically emphasized the clause that requires a lobbying firm to work on promoting the independence of the RS from Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is certainly not just a matter concerning the general contract and business relationship between the lobbying firm and the Government of the RS, but it directly undermines the Dayton Peace Agreement, it undermines peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that goes beyond the usual spheres of lobbying when it comes to the Dayton Peace Agreement and the peace and stability of BiH,” Komšić points out.

He adds that they also discussed plans concerning the presence of American companies, which are not only related to the construction of energy infrastructure but also, possibly, road and communication infrastructure in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“That is what I can tell you about the meeting at first glance. To be honest, that is the first impression, and please forgive a kind of confusion because I cannot get out of my head everything that happened in Sarajevo, and a kind of, I don't know what else to call it, regret and bitterness about everything that is happening regarding the safety of our citizens. Unfortunately, we have human casualties, we have a situation where doctors are fighting for the life of a young girl, so that is the most important thing for me at the moment, if you want me to be completely honest and fair,” said Komšić.