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Turkey and Croatia pledge support for Bosnia in Ankara talks
The new pledge of support is likely to boost Bosnia and Herzegovina's chances for integration into Western institutions after a NATO decision last week to grant the Balkan country the prospect of membership in the 28-nation bloc. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, speaking at a joint news conference with Bosnian Foreign Minister Sven Alkalaj and Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Jandrokovic, congratulated Bosnia on the launch of its Membership Action Plan (MAP) -- a precursor to full membership in NATO -- at last week's NATO meeting and praised Croatia for its strong support of Bosnia's NATO membership aspirations.
Alkalaj thanked both Turkey and Croatia for their “extraordinary support” for his country’s getting the MAP, saying it would not have been possible without the constant and active support of the two countries.
The three-way meeting is the second of its kind and the latest step Turkey has taken to improve ties between Bosnia and Croatia on the one hand and Bosnia and Serbia on the other. On Saturday, the presidents of Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia had an unprecedented meeting in İstanbul, following which the Serbian president voiced support for Bosnia’s NATO and European Union membership aspirations and its territorial integrity.
Dialogue among the four countries is expected to remain on two separate tracks for now, although the foreign ministers of the three countries said they were ready to merge the tracks. “There could be three-way or four-way even five-way mechanisms, but for now, things are running smoothly on these three-way mechanisms,” Davutoğlu said, emphasizing that Turkey was therefore willing to keep the both mechanisms as separate though parallel tracks.
Regular talks
The foreign ministers of Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia had their first trilateral meeting in Zagreb in January. Davutoğlu announced that the meetings will be regular, convening once every three months. The third meeting is scheduled to take place in Sarajevo.
 Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, Bosnian Foreign Minister Sven Alkalaj and Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Jandrokovic had their second trilateral meeting in Ankara on Wednesday. The next meeting is expected to be held in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. |
The presidents of the three countries will also have talks in the near future and will meet on the sidelines of every international gathering they attend, Davutoğlu said. Croatia and Turkey will also support Bosnia and Herzegovina’s membership in the European Union and NATO.
Bosnia also wants the EU to lift visa requirements for its nationals, a privilege which has already been extended to Serbia and Croatia. It expects its citizens will be granted visa-free travel within the EU shortly, a benefit the government hopes will help convince its skeptical public of the wisdom of embarking on the EU path.
The EU lifted visa restrictions for Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro last year while excluding nationals of Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as Albania, citing technical failures in their national passports. Turkey has questioned the decision, saying the visa policy appears to be excluding Muslim countries and sends the wrong signals.
Davutoğlu said the three countries will also work together to improve relations among the three founding nations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, namely the Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats. “We call on them to build a peaceful future,” he said.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was divided into a Serb Republic and a Muslim-Croat entity after the 1992-95 Bosnian war that killed about 100,000 people, is run by a weak central government and some Serbs favor secession. Turkey insists stability in Bosnia is key to stability in the Balkans.
Davutoğlu said the three countries will launch joint projects for the development of Bosnia and Herzegovina, pledging support for creating new air, sea and land transportation routes and revitalizing the economy of the former Yugoslav republic.
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