AIRLINK 172.79 Decreased By ▼ -2.94 (-1.67%)
BOP 13.29 Increased By ▲ 0.17 (1.3%)
CNERGY 7.41 Decreased By ▼ -0.13 (-1.72%)
FCCL 43.35 Decreased By ▼ -0.56 (-1.28%)
FFL 14.89 Decreased By ▼ -0.12 (-0.8%)
FLYNG 26.45 Decreased By ▼ -0.45 (-1.67%)
HUBC 129.70 Decreased By ▼ -0.53 (-0.41%)
HUMNL 13.25 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-0.67%)
KEL 4.44 Decreased By ▼ -0.06 (-1.33%)
KOSM 6.01 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-0.83%)
MLCF 55.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.53 (-0.95%)
OGDC 212.15 Decreased By ▼ -2.62 (-1.22%)
PACE 5.91 Decreased By ▼ -0.07 (-1.17%)
PAEL 41.15 Increased By ▲ 0.25 (0.61%)
PIAHCLA 16.36 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (0.25%)
PIBTL 9.57 Decreased By ▼ -0.18 (-1.85%)
POWER 11.54 Decreased By ▼ -0.22 (-1.87%)
PPL 178.40 Decreased By ▼ -3.08 (-1.7%)
PRL 33.44 Decreased By ▼ -0.78 (-2.28%)
PTC 22.82 Decreased By ▼ -0.24 (-1.04%)
SEARL 94.20 Decreased By ▼ -1.52 (-1.59%)
SILK 1.18 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (3.51%)
SSGC 34.90 Decreased By ▼ -0.55 (-1.55%)
SYM 15.79 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (0.25%)
TELE 7.81 Decreased By ▼ -0.06 (-0.76%)
TPLP 10.80 Decreased By ▼ -0.18 (-1.64%)
TRG 60.72 Increased By ▲ 0.22 (0.36%)
WAVESAPP 10.76 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-0.46%)
WTL 1.33 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-1.48%)
YOUW 3.80 Increased By ▲ 0.03 (0.8%)
BR100 12,035 Decreased By -18.8 (-0.16%)
BR30 36,355 Decreased By -112 (-0.31%)
KSE100 113,734 Decreased By -622.6 (-0.54%)
KSE30 35,061 Decreased By -286.1 (-0.81%)

SARAJEVO: The United States has denounced “dangerous” comments by Russia’s ambassador to Bosnia, who issued a tacit threat to the Balkan country over its proposed bid to join NATO.

Bosnia has been divided along ethnic lines since a war in the 1990s that killed some 100,000 people.

The country is ruled by a rotating tripartite presidency, with Croat and Muslim leaders in favour of joining NATO, while the Serb leader says he supports military neutrality.

Earlier this week, Russia’s ambassador in Sarajevo, Igor Kalabukhov, said his country could “react” if Bosnia were to join the Western military alliance, invoking Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russia strikes near Lviv airport as bombardment expands across Ukraine

“If (Bosnia) chooses to be a member of anything, that is its internal business. But there is another thing, our reaction”, he said.

“We have shown what we expect on the example of Ukraine. If there are threats, we will react.”

On Thursday, the US embassy in Bosnia hit out at what it called “threats”, calling them “dangerous, irresponsible, and unacceptable”.

“No third party has a say in security arrangements between NATO and sovereign countries”, the embassy tweeted.

“We will continue to stand firmly by Bosnia and Herzegovina as it takes the necessary steps to secure its place in the Euro-Atlantic community of nations.”

Fears of destabilisation have mounted in Bosnia in recent months since Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, a Kremlin ally, issued secessionist threats.

In December, Dodik launched a process of Serb withdrawal from Bosnia’s joint army, judiciary and the tax system, stirring fears of breaking up the country or starting a new conflict.

Before making the move, Dodik travelled to Moscow, appearing to have tacit backing from Russia, the Serbs’ historic ally.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is run by a dizzying bureaucracy meant to protect a fragile peace, including the rotating presidency, and no major decision can be made without consensus from all sides.

One half of the country belongs to the Serb entity while the other is ruled by a Muslim-Croat federation.

Bosnia condemned the Russian invasion at the United Nations, but failed to agree on imposing sanctions against the Kremlin due to opposition from Serb officials.

Comments

Comments are closed.