Rasmusen: NATO will not give up on MAP conditions!

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will not give up on the conditions for activating the Membership Action Plan (MAP), because we believe this issue is not impossible to resolve and it is a test of the state's functionality, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen stated today in Brussels, reports the Patria News Agency.

He spoke today with member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Željko Komšić. Rasmussen reiterated that for BiH, resolving the issue of military property and registering 63 prospective locations remains a condition for further progress of our country towards membership.

- I would like to see the MAP activated for BiH as soon as possible. We are ready to open the door when this problem is solved. I want to say that this is a special approach towards BiH, because we have offered such an arrangement in which the MAP is already approved when the condition is met - said Rasmussen.

He said that it is not impossible to resolve this issue and expressed hope that it will be concluded before the December NATO summit in London.

Komšić said at a press conference at NATO headquarters that he used the meeting to inform Rasmussen why this issue has not been moved forward for years.

- BiH, according to its valid regulations, has all the conditions to register property. All those locations declared prospective are already in the possession of the Ministry of Defense of BiH. However, due to the necessity of political consensus among political parties, we encounter problems. Formally, we have the conditions to do it, but there is no political will for it to happen. It sounds absurd, there is no consensus to implement the law - said Komšić.

He added that he understands NATO's position that this is an indicator of the extent to which BiH can function as a normal state, and that this is important for unified action within NATO.

- We know that 63 locations are not key for NATO, but it is necessary to show as a country that we function, that we are a reliable partner. On the other hand, we continue to cooperate with NATO in other areas and we have received praise for that - added Komšić.