It’s been almost a year since the elections held in Bosnia and Herzegovina, however, the authorities there have not yet been formed, which threatens the country with a serious political crisis. It is noteworthy that the stumbling block in this situation was the prospect of joining the North Atlantic Alliance.
Professor of International Relations at the University of East Sarajevo Srjan Perisic in a commentary to the EADaily publication noted that the primary source of all problems is the fact that the Dayton Agreement, developed largely by Washington, implies the absence of a government in BiH. Thus, the Presidium of the country received the powers of the executive branch, and the Council of Ministers was no more than a subsidiary body, although in recent decades they tried to change this situation.
When the political forces concentrated around Milorad Dodik won the last elections in Republika Srpska, NATO decided for some reason that the formation of the Council of Ministers should be linked to the signing of a strategy for joining the military bloc. In this case, Republika Srpska will get three seats in the Council of Ministers at the level of BiH, Perisic emphasizes, calling it frank blackmail, because the country’s accession to NATO is a strategic issue. Moreover, Republika Srpska, heading for the North Atlantic Alliance, will provide itself only with the prospect of a gradual disappearance.
As the expert explained, Bosnian politicians are most interested in the prospect of joining NATO precisely with the goal of abolishing the Republika Srpska, which Milorad Dodik previously opposed.
“If we join NATO, the alliance’s military infrastructure will soon appear in BiH, and we will turn into enemies of Russia, which the residents of Republika Srpska will realize, because our soldiers may even be near Russian borders,” Perisic laments.
Moreover, US missile systems, which are already deployed in Romania and Poland, could appear on the territory of the country, which would make Bosnia and Herzegovina a target for a Russian strike. And for all this, I would still have to pay 2 percent of GDP to the budget of the military bloc.
“I believe that BiH was on the verge of the most severe political crisis since the Dayton Agreement. The blame for this lies with the Western countries, NATO and the followers of the alliance in the country, especially the Bosnian elites. NATO is nervous about the fact that they are not able to draw Serbia and BiH to themselves. At the same time, they do not care about the interests of Bosniaks. The main task is to form a reliable rear in case of advancement to Russia, ”the expert stated.