Bakir Izetbegovic, leader of the leading Bosniak (indigenous Muslim) party in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) — Party of Democratic Action (SDA) and son of the founder of this state and party, Alija Izetbegovic, reacted sharply to the latest provocative actions of official representatives of Russia against this country. «Russia is not going to boss around in Bosnia,» Izetbegovic said.
The reason for this reaction was an article by the Russian Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Petar Ivantsov, published in the so-called Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (RS) news agency «Serbian Voice». In this article, Ivantsov, in addition to recognizing our «special friendly relations with RS as a fact,» stated that the Kremlin «opposes the expansion of NATO — an aggressive military-political bloc that only creates dividing lines in Europe and undermines pan-European stability and security.
And this refers directly to Bosnia and Herzegovina, whose leaders have previously agreed on a road map for joining the EU and NATO, including with the participation of Bosnian Serb leaders. For the first time, however, Moscow is not making statements against the Western Balkan countries’ course of joining these alliances, as Russia’s ambassador to Serbia, Alexander Chepurin, did earlier (source).
And, of course, the focus is on the so-called Serb Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (RS), with which the Russian ambassador boasts of having special relations, ignoring the anti-Bosnian attitude of its leadership and the protests of the Bosnian authorities in this matter (source).
In this regard, Bakir Izetbegovic stated the following: «BiH’s decisions regarding NATO were made a long time ago. What has Russia got to do with it? These decisions were made by those who are currently in the Presidency*, and Milorad Dodik and his party** supported them. Our country will be ruled by laws, not by Russia. We have made our strategic decisions, our strategies and our laws, and we will move towards the European Union and NATO, whether the Russian ambassador likes it or not.
At the same time, as we have repeatedly stated, the destabilization capabilities of Moscow and its proxies in BiH should not be underestimated. In Macedonia and Montenegro, which have set a course for NATO membership, attempts to counter this, including attempts on the leadership of these countries and coups by pro-Moscow forces, have been successfully neutralized because these are consolidated states.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the other hand, is a composite state, and the so-called Serbian Republic within it, created through ethnic cleansing of Muslims, has veto power and is a state within a state, receiving not only diplomatic but also military support from the Kremlin, ranging from organizing training camps to supplying police equipment. And if there is a real prospect of Bosnia and Herzegovina joining NATO, this delayed-action mine within Bosnia and Herzegovina can be detonated from Moscow, if desired.
* The country is governed by a collective presidency consisting of representatives of three nations — Bosniaks (autochthonous Muslims), Croats and Serbs; ** — representatives of Bosnian Serbs (In the photo — Bakir Izetbegovic and his quote: «Russia is not going to boss around in Bosnia. We are going to NATO, whether the Russian ambassador likes it or not»)».