NATO Official to RSE: We Are Not Imposing Anything on BiH

(Patria) - Bosnia and Herzegovina has received an offer from the NATO alliance, and it is up to them to accept or reject it, a senior NATO official for Russia and the Western Balkans, Robert Pszczel, stated in an interview with Radio Free Europe (RSE), after the Draft Annual National Program of BiH for NATO (ANP) was removed from the agenda of the Council of Ministers session for the ninth time.

Pszczel participated in Belgrade as a speaker at a panel dedicated to Russia's influence in the Western Balkans, organized by the Center for Euro-Atlantic Studies.

Speaking about the situation in BiH, Pszczel emphasized that NATO is not imposing a decision on BiH's membership and that this is an issue that the government in Sarajevo and the citizens themselves will have to answer.

Pszczel: This is a very complex issue, meaning it entails additional questions. The first thing is that the integration process cannot be dictated, and it is not a decision that someone else will make. Of course, a decision by the members of the organization is needed if we are talking about the process of joining NATO, but nothing concrete can happen if the countries are not interested and if a dialogue has not been conducted within the country itself to ensure broad consensus. That is a prerequisite.

The second thing – we have been present in the Balkans for many years; it is not some backyard, but part of our territory, and we have truly done our best to stabilize the region. When it comes to the specific case of BiH, we are not imposing anything; NATO is not part of the political process; we are not responsible for forming the government.

What we did in December 2018, and for which we had consensus within NATO, all 29 allies put an offer on the table to the government in Sarajevo – if you want to move forward with integration into the NATO alliance, we want to present you with the Annual National Program, which can be the first step towards a Membership Action Plan. But that is an offer. So, it is up to the BiH government and the citizens to decide if they want it.

RSE: Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dačić stated that Serbia sees the Kosovo Army as one of the greatest threats to peace and stability in the region. The same was stated by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Minister of Defense Aleksandar Vulin. Dačić also stated that Serbia expects NATO to do its job in accordance with its mandate. What is NATO's current stance on the transformation of the Kosovo Security Forces into the Kosovo Army? NATO officials have previously expressed concern about this.

Pszczel: NATO's stance has not changed. First, you can be assured that KFOR's mandate and what KFOR does daily – that has not changed. KFOR is there to protect all communities in Kosovo and help achieve stability and security. We are pleased that KFOR enjoys the support and respect of all communities, including our partners in Belgrade. As for the decision made by the authorities in Pristina, we have expressed our position several times, including NATO Secretary General (Jens Stoltenberg).