Mladen Ivanić new President of Serbia

Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Mladen Ivanić said that BiH can join NATO only if and when Serbia joins that alliance.

-A clearer stance than that is not possible. Any other option would imply a division of the Serbian people. We do not need referendums. This topic should not even be opened, because there are no conditions for BiH's NATO membership as long as Serbia is not in that alliance, Ivanić said in an interview with today's "Politika".

From an experienced and extremely pragmatic politician, such as Ivanić, such a statement was not expected.

Because he always weighed what he would say and how, especially when he held high-level positions at the state level. During his time as Minister of Foreign Affairs of BiH, it was shown that he was one of the best heads of diplomacy that BiH has had.

He never aspired to be above Milorad Dodik, nor did he pay attention to what official Belgrade would say.  

Especially if one now looks from the perspective of the Alliance for Changes of the RS, which includes his PDP, and which has declaratively committed itself to both European (EU) and Atlantic (NATO) integrations.

However, Ivanić suddenly started playing by the tried-and-tested recipe of the SNSD leader, in which he not only panders to Serbia but also to Russia.

That is Putin's strategy - Serbia can join the EU, so that Russia has leverage to block all important decisions made in Brussels, but categorically „no“ to NATO.

Vladimir has decided so, and Serbia will behave according to his instructions.

But how long will Bosnia and Herzegovina be a hostage to these policies, coming from our eastern neighbours?

Serbia, which committed aggression against this country, instead of lagging behind us and not „sniffing around“ the EU or Washington before BiH, is again forging ahead at the expense of this country. And in seven-league strides.  

And not only is it forging ahead. Ivanić, who now wants to be a greater Serb than Dodik, is stopping it on the path of progress.

BiH has been a bargaining chip for the country that committed aggression for 25 years.

It now seems that everything is being done to continue in peacetime the policy of official Belgrade from the 1990s, which brought nothing good to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

It must be that Ivanić forgot that he is the head of state of BiH, and instead of puffing out his chest and saying „Serbia will not go anywhere before BiH,“ he coldly states that BiH can join NATO only if and when Serbia joins!?

Undoubtedly, this is a clear message that he will begin to block all processes that lead BiH forward, for the sake of Serbia. Or has Ivanić in the meantime been elected President of Serbia instead of the "European" Tomislav Nikolić, and no one told us?

Because who would work against the interests of the state whose head they are? Such a thing has never been seen in the world before. In BiH, unfortunately, we witness such situations every day.