If I were the newly elected Croat member of Bosnia’s Presidency, I would not make controversial statements concerning Serbia or Croatia. It would be a lot smarter if he were to try to convince other two Presidency members to work in Bosnia’s interest, Mostar University professor Slavo Kukic told N1.

“His personal views don’t mean a thing. He can only raise tensions with such statements because the tripartite Presidency makes decisions through consensus. It would be a lot smarter if he were to convince the other two members to work in Bosnia’s interest,” Kukic noted.

During the recent general election in Bosnia, Zeljko Komsic won the most votes for the Croat member of Bosnia’s Presidency which consists of three members, each from one of the constituent peoples in the country. The other two members are the Bosniak member Sefik Dzaferovic and the Serb member Milorad Dodik.

Right after the election preliminary results, the leader of the central-left Democratic Front party made a couple of statements which angered the official Zagreb and Belgrade.

Speaking about Croatia, Komsic said he could initiate Bosnia’s lawsuit against neighbouring Croatia because they began the construction of the Peljesac bridge which cuts across Bosnia’s path to open sea, without the prior agreement with Bosnia on the border at sea.

In another statement, Komsic said that he personally believes Kosovo is an independent state, but that he will set these views aside because the Presidency would not be able to reach a consensus about this issue.

According to the Mostar Professor, the region needs a lot more wisdom, as well.

“Truth be told, Croatia and Serbia should know that this is a sovereign country. After these initial statements, I think tensions will subside and the Presidency will act a lot wiser and that Sarajevo's relations with Belgrade and Zagreb will stabilise,” he added.