Croatia is BiH's best friend and EU defender

 

 From Sarajevo, where he arrived in the early hours of the day, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic assured that Zagreb is Bosnia and Herzegovina's "best friend" and its defender in the European Union, the state news agency HINA reported.

Plenkovic led a government delegation on an official visit to BiH, and immediately after arriving in Sarajevo, he met with Prime Minister Zoran Tegeltia and his ministers.

 The visit came amid BiH facing the biggest domestic political crisis since the war, sparked by attempts by Republika Srpska authorities to separate the entity from the country's constitutional and legal order.

After talks between the two governments, Plenkovic told reporters that Croatia is following developments in BiH very closely, so his first message is that Zagreb is a friend and partner who wants to improve co-operation with BiH, support the country's integrity and equality. subject and three peoples.

 "We would like BiH's institutions to function," Plenković said, commenting on RS parliament's conclusions last week, which paved the way for the repeal of some important state-level laws.

Plenković said Croatia does not want to see separatist tendencies in BiH and expects the Dayton Accords, which it signed, to be fully respected.

He added that it is extremely important for Zagreb to see that Croats, the smallest constituent people, have been guaranteed all rights.

 "We are dissatisfied with the practice that has existed since 2006, which is an obstacle to institutional co-operation between Croatia and BiH," Plenkovic said, hinting that there has been no summit for years because Croatia does not recognize Zeljko Komsic's legitimacy as Croatian member of the BiH Presidium.

Asked if he had come to "smooth over" relations between the two countries, given reactions to President Zoran Milanovic's statements, such as the Srebrenica genocide, Plenkovic said no such intervention was needed because official Zagreb's attitude towards the Srebrenica genocide is clear.

 He confirmed that Croatia is ready to help BiH on the path to European and Atlantic integration, improve economic co-operation, and work to improve infrastructure connectivity and energy.