Croatia will not impose sanctions on Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said, BGNES reports.
He added that he did not believe a consensus would be reached at the European Union level on sanctions against the RS political leadership.
"Croatia will not impose sanctions on Dodik. We are not in the same position as other countries that are not neighbours. Banja Luka is an hour and a half drive from Zagreb. That's why we want to send reassuring messages, encourage dialogue and bring the political actors in BiH back into the constitutional framework," Plenkovic said after last night's meeting with HDZ BiH leader Dragan Covic.
Plenkovic believes that sanctions will "further destabilise the political situation in BiH and slow down its European path", which in his opinion is not in the interest of the citizens of BiH or Croatia.
The prime minister said he was concerned about the political crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina, describing it as one of the most serious since the end of the war in 1995.
"We believe that the crisis is serious and that all political actors must show responsibility, return to the constitutional framework and reduce tensions.
All attempts at separatism, especially from the ranks of Republika Srpska's political representatives, are bad and harmful for the functionality and survival of BiH," the Croatian prime minister said.
According to him, Croatia, as BiH's neighbour to the south, west and north, has the greatest interest in a stable and functional BiH and stressed that it will continue to act as a partner on BiH's European path. | BGNES