Ministry of Defence of BiH denies NATO exercise on Manjača

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Regarding the information from the Dnevnik.ba portal of 20.02.2018 about the alleged organization of a NATO exercise with an air squadron and depleted uranium at the Manjača polygon, which was also reported by other print and electronic media, and considering the very tendentious writing, as well as the dissemination of absolutely incorrect information, we hereby issue a denial of the statement regarding the intention of the Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces of BiH to organize a NATO exercise with an air squadron.

The Ministry of Defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina maintains successful bilateral defence cooperation with a large number of countries in and outside of Europe, including the United States of America.

Within the scope of bilateral cooperation with the USA, in addition to a number of other activities, the realization of an Air to Ground Integration exercise is being considered for 2019.

The potential organization of the exercise in question is in the initial phase of coordination, and neither the scenario, nor the participants, nor the means by which the exercise would be conducted have been determined yet.

We emphasize on this occasion that for all military exercises organized in BiH, which include the participation of international entities, the Ministry of Defence of BiH previously obtains approval from the Presidency of BiH, and coordinates operational preparations and the realization itself with all other institutions in BiH. Furthermore, for the specific exercise, should the intention to organize it be determined, the Mo BiH will seek approval from the Presidency of BiH.

During the meeting with Major General John Gronski, Deputy Commander of the U.S. Army Europe, held at the Mo BiH on 13.2.2018, the possible participation of the BiH Armed Forces in NATO crisis management exercises was discussed. There was no mention of the Air to Ground Integration exercise, according to the statement from the Ministry of Defence of BiH.