ZAGREB, 18 June 2022 - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in Sarajevo on Saturday that Ankara would not allow new tension in Bosnia and Herzegovina, advocating a meeting of leaders of Croatia, Turkey, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina to help preserve the country's stability.
For the sake of Bosnia and Herzegovina's stability and development we are willing to support and participate in any bilateral and multilateral political, economic and other initiatives that are acceptable to all sides, and we constantly encourage them in that sense, the Turkish official said at a news conference he held together with his BiH counterpart Bisera Turković.
The proposal to hold a quadrilateral meeting was put forward earlier this week by the Serb member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency, Milorad Dodik, during a visit to Ankara.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is crucial to regional stability and therefore we cannot allow new tension in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cavusoglu said, noting that everyone should act responsibly.
Dodik has proposed that the stabilisation of the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina should be discussed by the presidents of Turkey, Croatia and Serbia, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Zoran Milanović and Aleksandar Vučić respectively, as well as by representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks.
Turkey will support any format of talks and agreement if all political stakeholders in your country agree on it, Cavusoglu said.
He recalled that during his visit to Zagreb on Friday, he had made it very clear that Ankara would support all activities aimed at preserving Bosnia and Herzegovina's integrity.
Turkey respects the fact that Dodik is the Serb member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency, he said when asked about his country's position on Dodik.
Whether you love him or not, Milorad Dodik is a member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency, Cavusoglu said.
At meetings with Dodik, Turkey makes its positions on Republika Srpska's moves regarding Bosnia and Herzegovina's political and territorial integrity very clear, Cavusoglu said in an evident allusion to announcements by the Serb entity of the transfer of powers from the state to the entity level, which is seen as an attempt at secessionism.
Cavusoglu on Saturday held talks with his Bosnia and Herzegovina counterpart Bisera Turković, and the two ministers signed two agreements.
Turkey supports Bosnia and Herzegovina's integration with NATO and the EU, Turković stressed.
Cavusoglu also held separate meetings with Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency members Željko Komšić and Šefik Džaferović, and on Friday evening he met with the international community's High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, and the head of the country's Islamic community, Rais Husein Kavazović. He also visited the grave of the Bosniak wartime leader and Bosnia and Herzegovina's first president, Alija Izetbegović.
