Politics

Milanović Reiterates Idea to Mediate in Bosnia with Vučić and Erdogan

By 4 November 2021
Milanović Reiterates Idea to Mediate in Bosnia with Vučić and Erdogan
Photo: Sasa Miljevic/PIXSELL

ZAGREB, 4 Nov 2021 - Croatian President Zoran Milanović on Thursday reiterated the idea for representatives of the three constituent peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina to sit down together with him and the presidents of Serbia and Turkey "because in such a setting a satisfactory solution can be found" to the crisis in that country.

"I would like to see Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan as some sort of guarantors. There will be misunderstandings, but let's see what can be done for Bosnia and Herzegovina to remain whole," Milanović told the press in Zagreb.

He believes that "only in such a setting can a satisfactory solution be found." 

"Each side, and that means the three ethnic sides, would have someone they trust as well as someone they do not fully trust. I'm not sure how much the Bosniaks trust Vučić, but the Serbs do. That is enough for me," Milanović said.

The president recently called Prime Minister Andrej Plenković to coordinate the policy towards BiH, to which Plenković retorted that Milanović was "a staunch advocate of Željko Komišić whom he supported against the HDZ member," and that now he seems to be "mates with Dodik."

Milanović responded by saying that the prime minister needs to explain why he is making statements in Brussels that "are detrimental to the Croats."

"I am saying we need to maintain a common front, not in discipline but in views. Each one of our disputes in Croatia causes bitterness and nausea in Mostar, Široki Brijeg, and Vitez," said Milanović.

During the EU-Western Balkans summit in October, Plenković said the EU was following Dodik's statements about the functioning of Bosnia and Herzegovina "with caution and disapproval".

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