Bosnian top diplomat touts ‘constructive’ Turkish role in Balkans
BOSNIA-Herzegovina’s top diplomat on Sunday hailed Türkiye’s relations with Western Balkan nations as “beneficial” to the region’s troubles.
“Türkiye is a friend and one of the most important partners of Bosnia-Herzegovina and our relations, in terms of foreign policy, are wonderful,” Bosnian Foreign Minister Elmedin Konakovic told Anadolu Agency (AA).
Pointing out Ankara’s communication with political actors in Bosnia-Herzegovina, notably Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik of the Republika Srpska (RS), Konakovic said: “It could be useful to carry out dialogue in all forms, especially now when we need someone to soften the relations between the peoples of BosniaHerzegovina because memories from the last war are still fresh.”
The RS is one of the two entities of Bosnia-Herzegovina established by the Dayton Peace Deal, which ended hostilities in November 1995 following the Bosnian War. One-half of the country belongs to the Serb entity RS, while the other is ruled by a Muslim-Croat federation.
Calling President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Turkish officials “true friends” of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Konakovic also argued Türkiye’s relationship with Bosnian political actors could also contribute to the country’s integration into NATO, over which there are differences of opinion in the country.
While Türkiye is a major supporter of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s membership in NATO, Bosnian Serbs are fully against the move, fueling concerns over their “secessionist rhetoric” and “Russian influence,” as remarked by NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg amid Moscow’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Ankara has investments and established ties with Serbia, as well, which Konakovic praised to be “very well” and argued could be useful for the Balkans in general. “Türkiye participates in meetings including Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia,” Konakovic said. “I believe Türkiye’s relationship with these Western Balkan nations will help bring stability to all regional incidents because I genuinely consider Türkiye a friend of Bosnia.”
EU ACCESSION
As for his country’s pending accession to the European Union, Konakovic acknowledged certain “changes” in the bloc’s approach to enlargement in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war.
“The EU understands the importance of stability of many regions and opened the door to integration in recent months,” he said.
The EU is a key trade partner for Bosnia-Herzegovina, and membership is a top priority in Bosnian foreign policy but it has been kept on the waiting list since securing a green light to start accession talks last year.
Konakovic lamented the challenges of the process in Bosnia-Herzegovina itself, saying, “It’s really complicated having this dialogue with people that don’t view our history in the same light, that deny the genocide and celebrate war crimes and criminals.”
Dodik and the RS are staunch deniers of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, when more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslims were killed after Bosnian Serb forces attacked Srebrenica despite the presence of Dutch peacekeeping troops. Serb forces were trying to wrest territory from Bosnian Muslims and Croats to form an independent state, an ambition that continues to this day.
Dutch troops failed to act as Serb forces occupied the area, killing 2,000 men and boys on July 11, 1995, alone.
About 15,000 residents of Srebrenica fled to the surrounding mountains, but Serb troops hunted them down and killed 6,000 more people. Bodies of victims have been found in 570 different areas across the country. In 2007, the International Court of Justice at The Hague ruled that genocide had been committed in Srebrenica.
Konakovic underscored the importance of EU accession in spite of these disagreements “for the future of Bosnia” and said, “Our only chance for strong economic development and to integrate our market into the European Single Market may be to use the opportunity of becoming a full EU member.”