Palmer told Izetbegović he expects continued implementation of the Mostar Agreement

SDA President Bakir Izetbegović spoke today with Matthew Palmer, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State of the United States and Special Envoy of the State Department for the Balkans.

In a telephone conversation, Izetbegović and Palmer jointly assessed that additional efforts are needed to accelerate Bosnia and Herzegovina's European and NATO path. The SDA President emphasized that with the arrival of the new U.S. administration, an increased U.S. presence and support for reform and integration processes is expected.

The topic of the conversation was also the completion of the electoral process in Mostar, and the interlocutors agreed that it is necessary to proceed without delay to address the accumulated problems in this city. Palmer expressed the expectation that talks between the SDA and HDZ on the implementation of the political part of the Mostar Agreement, which concerns reforms of the Election Law and the implementation of rulings of the European Court of Human Rights and the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, will soon continue.

Izetbegović emphasized that the SDA and HDZ established principles in the agreement that imply a balance between civic and ethnic elements, but they will not be able to create the final solution on their own. He noted that given the complexity of this issue, stronger involvement of representatives of all parliamentary parties, representatives of the EU and the U.S., as well as the non-governmental sector and domestic and foreign legal experts is needed in order to reach a solution in line with European standards.