Mektić: Grabar-Kitarović maliciously damages BiH's reputation, her statements are pure nonsense

BiH Security Minister Dragan Mektić reiterated today that the statements and claims of Croatian President Kolinda Grabar Kitarović are inaccurate and malicious. He stated that he does not shy away from the fact that extremism, and even violent radicalism, exists in BiH, but that everything is being done to counter it.

- We are ready to cooperate with everyone to improve the entire situation both within BiH and the region. It is not true that the region is not burdened by these same problems. I claim that we must speak publicly about this problem - Mektić said.

He expressed surprise as to why the Croatian president chose to operate on the basis of conflict.

- First, they did it with Serbia, serious accusations were made, and when Serbia said it did not want to enter into a verbal conflict, they found us to be the victims. If this is the EU, what Croatia is doing, then God forbid I ever become a member of the EU. She again referred to a non-existent SIPA report, and I publicly invite the journalist to share that document with the media to determine its authenticity, seal, and signature of the responsible person - Mektić said.

Commenting on the Croatian president's latest statement that thousands of Islamic fighters are expected in BiH, Mektić called it pure nonsense.

He believes that these statements can be linked to the arrest of 10 HVO members for crimes against Serbs.

- In this way, the international reputation is being damaged, BiH is being destabilized, and BiH's status in the world is being undermined - the minister emphasized.

According to the data presented by Mektić, 226 adult citizens of BiH had been to the Syrian-Iraqi battlefield.

- Currently, 115 BiH citizens are on the Syrian-Iraqi battlefield. 65 have died, and 46 citizens have returned to BiH. Of those 46, all are subject to criminal prosecution or data collection for their prosecution. 20 of them have been sentenced to prison, and proceedings are underway against 26. That is the full truth.

He confirmed that in the last 6 months, there have been no departures to the battlefields, nor is BiH facing any terrorist threats.

Mektić said that he had not spoken with the members of the BiH Presidency or the director of OSA. He said that he is always ready to sit down and talk with competent agencies from Croatia, to exchange data, but that he has never been informed about the existence of such data from Croatia.