Plenković: The final days of the tender for the Pelješac Bridge are underway, we are ready for dialogue with BiH

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said today at a session of the Croatian Government that he is ready to talk with Bosnia and Herzegovina regarding the construction of the Pelješac Bridge.

"Our message is quite clear: dialogue with BiH, clarification of all international-legal, technical, or any other aspects, we are ready and open to that dialogue, just as it was during the joint session of the Council of Ministers and the Government of the Republic of Croatia in Sarajevo," Plenković said, reports Patria agency.

Plenković informed the Croatian ministers in the Government that he had spoken with the Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denis Zvizdić, and besides the Pelješac Bridge, other issues were also discussed.

"The Pelješac Bridge is being built on Croatian territory in accordance with technical preparations, and the final days of the tender are underway, with the procedure for selecting a contractor lasting until September 15," said Plenković.

Deputy Speakers of the House of Representatives and the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, Šefik Džaferović and Safet Softić, sent a letter yesterday to the President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, requesting a halt to the construction of the Pelješac Bridge until the dispute between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia is resolved.

The letter requests the European Commission to mediate between the two countries in such a way that Bosnia and Herzegovina first gets free access to the open sea, after which Croatia can consider the possibilities of building the bridge.

The construction of the Pelješac Bridge in the Malostonski Bay, with which Croatia wants to connect the Dubrovnik-Neretva County with the mainland, would close Bosnia and Herzegovina's access to the open sea, which would be a violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Plenković also informed the ministers in the Government of Croatia about his two visits to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the last few days, when he visited several municipalities in the FBiH with a majority Croatian population, writes NAP.