Conflicting views of Cvijanović and Bećirović, Komšić warned that the Budget does not allocate enough money for defense

(Patria) - Members of the BiH Presidency held a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, after which they addressed a press conference.

The Chairwoman of the BiH Presidency, Željka Cvijanović, said that she told Rutte that she welcomes the increased presence of EUFOR and NATO in BiH.

"This was an opportunity to confirm our commitment as the BiH Presidency to cooperation between the BiH Armed Forces and NATO. It is already good, there are no problems there. I said that the BiH Armed Forces should not be drawn into any politics. The BiH Armed Forces are where they are, they are professional and will continue to work in accordance with the law.

The crisis that has led us all to have a headache now was unnecessary. I see Mr. Rutte as someone who wants to be a friend to all people in BiH. And that's how we conducted the meeting. There are things we agree on, and there are things we don't agree on. You can't blame one person and not see what the other is doing," said Cvijanović.

Denis Bećirović said that the meeting was very encouraging and it is especially important that he pointed out five key points.

"That NATO has a lasting commitment to BiH, that a stable BiH is very important for both NATO and Europe, that the Secretary General said he supports the independence, territorial integrity, and sovereignty of BiH, NATO does not accept and will not allow a security vacuum in BiH. And a very important message for stabilizing the situation in BiH, full support for the role and mandate of the High Representative. My message is that the situation needs to be stabilized, that everyone should respect the constitutional order, and the prerequisite for peace and stability is respect for the constitutional order and the unimpeded work of all BiH institutions. I said that these are the most difficult moments since 1995. We had the opportunity to see a brutal attack on BiH. The Constitutional Court has issued temporary measures, and everyone is obliged to respect the decisions of the BiH Constitutional Court. What we have today is unprecedented state unity and international community support, the demolition of the constitutional order has been condemned by many. Some have moved towards dangerous destabilization, and it must be stopped. This is a continuous attempt to undermine the Dayton Peace Agreement, and that must be stopped. BiH has strong ties with NATO. We are grateful to NATO for ensuring peace and for its very important role in BiH.

We were supposed to talk about some important issues, but we can talk about them when we stop the attempt to undermine the constitutional order of BiH. The institutions are ready to protect the constitutional order. Only Moscow would benefit from the destabilization of this part of Europe," said Bećirović.

Željko Komšić, a member of the BiH Presidency, said that he is ready to sign everything he heard from Mr. Rutte.

„The responsibility of the three of us as members of the BiH Presidency is for the general climate in BiH. However we look at things, ultimately the responsibility for the state of the country will fall on the three of us. It is our duty to deliver mostly good news.

It is necessary for BiH to allocate a larger portion of money for the defense sector if we want to be a member of NATO. In the budget we have the opportunity to vote on, everything contrary has been done. The amount of funds for defense is nowhere near 2 percent of GDP. Not to mention the current situation," said Komšić.

Cvijanović spoke again, saying that NATO membership was not discussed today.

"If the BiH Armed Forces act in accordance with the law, there are no threats; if the police adhere to the law, there are no threats. We have no problems between the two entities. Things here are placed in political processes.

They believe that court decisions should be respected; I do not.

This crisis was caused by Christian Schmidt, not Milorad Dodik. Things need to be brought down to a political level. The position in Republika Srpska is that this state has been privatized by one nation. Who agrees with what is not important," said Cvijanović.