American general PAMELA MCGAHA: Russia is persistently trying to destabilize Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region
NATO is closely monitoring the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and will not allow it to be destabilized, General Pamela McGaha, commander of the NATO headquarters in Sarajevo, said on Wednesday, warning that Russia continues to play the role of a state that undermines stability in the entire region.
American General McGah has been at the head of the headquarters in Sarajevo for two years now, which includes officers from NATO countries with the task of helping reform the defense sector of BiH and the training of its armed forces.
The NATO headquarters in Sarajevo was established in 2004, when the mission of SFOR which until then was led by the Alliance and its mandate to preserve peace in BiH was taken over by the military forces of the European Union through the Althea mission.
This mission is extended every year by the decisions of the UN Security Council, and EUFOR relies on the support of NATO through the “Berlin Plus” contract in the implementation of its tasks. from 2003 which enables the European Union to use the capacities of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for its military operations around the world.
In the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina, NATO has left open the possibility of resuming the monitoring of compliance with the military part of the Dayton Agreement from the EU in case the Security Council refuses due to the Russian blockade to extend the EUFOR mandate, and General McGaha in an interview with Sarajevo’s “Oslobođenje” confirmed that this option is still valid because NATO will not allow a security vacuum that would threaten peace in BiH.
“NATO allies firmly support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Our collective focus is exactly on that and it will always be our focus,” said McGaha.
She added that actually the entire Western Balkans region is of strategic importance for NATO, and therefore the military contingent operating in Kosovo has been strengthened and this again has an effect on BiH and other countries of the region.
Commenting on the internal situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina marked by constant political tensions, McGaha said that NATO expects responsible behavior from political leaders in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but at the same time closely monitors what they are doing.
“We are concerned about secessionist and divisive rhetoric, as well as malignant external influence, including that from Russia, which threatens to threaten stability and block reforms. We invite Russia to play a constructive role in the Western Balkans. Unfortunately, we regularly see Russia doing exactly the opposite. We see hacking, disinformation, intimidation, and other destabilizing activities. NATO fully respects the sovereign right of each country to choose its own political and security arrangements. We call on Russia to do the same. It is a fundamental principle of European security to which we have all committed ourselves, including Russia,” McGaha said.
Napomena o autorskim pravima: Dozvoljeno preuzimanje sadržaja isključivo uz navođenje linka prema stranici našeg portala sa koje je sadržaj preuzet. Stavovi izraženi u ovom tekstu autorovi su i ne odražavaju nužno uredničku politiku The Balkantimes Press.
Copyright Notice: It is allowed to download the content only by providing a link to the page of our portal from which the content was downloaded. The views expressed in this text are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policies of The Balkantimes Press.