Ambassador Murphy's Higher Math: Three Plus Zero is Zero Reform Programs

(Patria) - Following statements by BiH Presidency member Željko Komšić that the US Ambassador to BiH Michael Murphy is "the political father of this government, that he did everything to make it this way, and that he therefore wants to shift the blame from the government regarding the NATO path," the US Embassy commented on these claims for Avaz.

- The United States remains a steadfast partner to Bosnia and Herzegovina and supports the aspirations of its citizens for a secure, democratic, and prosperous future within Euro-Atlantic institutions. Ambassador Murphy's statements on NATO are in line with long-standing US policy, which emphasizes the need for all political leaders to do the hard work and reach the difficult compromises necessary for NATO membership, which is a foreign policy goal that the country's leaders have enshrined in BiH laws - the US Embassy stated for "Dnevni avaz".

They also emphasized that aspirations alone will not lead to the achievement of this goal.

- Neither the current government, nor the previous one in which parties now in opposition were present, have implemented the reforms necessary to strengthen the Armed Forces of BiH and build a stronger, more solid partnership between BiH and NATO. NATO membership is not a favor granted by allies; it must be earned - the US Embassy stressed.

However, despite this, facts refute Ambassador Murphy's claims about the identical nature of the relationship between the past and current governments regarding Bosnia and Herzegovina's NATO path.

Bosnia and Herzegovina submitted three Reform Programs to NATO headquarters in Brussels between 2019 and 2022, and this is simply a fact, publicly available to everyone.

After that, the government of HDZ, Trojka, and SNSD has not submitted a single Reform Program, nor is it known if this government will ever submit any Reform Program.

3 and 0 are not the same numbers, except in Mr. Murphy's higher mathematics.

(M.T.)