The way that Miroslav Lajcak organised a meeting by inviting only representatives of two ethnic parties sends a bad message to Bosnia and Herzegovina, said prime minister Denis Zvizdic commenting on a meeting that Slovak Foreign Minister and former international administrator in Bosnia held last weekend with the Bosnian Croat and Serb leaders, Dragan Covic and Milorad Dodik.
The meeting won't contribute to the government formation processes in Bosnia, according to Zvizdic.
“The way in which Lajcak organised this meeting, by inviting the representatives of only two ethnic parties, sends a bad message to Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is a several times repeated practice of one-sided briefing and meeting, which is indicative. Mr Lajcak played an exceptionally important role in Bosnia and Herzegovina during his term as a High Representative,” said Zvizdic, adding that Lajcak should have learnt during the term that “the axiom of work of the international community in Bosnia and Herzegovina never rules out all relevant sides.”
Local media briefly reported on Sunday that the Slovak diplomat met Dragan Covic and Milorad Dodik to discuss the current political situation in the country and the stalemate triggered by the failure to form the authorities following the 2018 general elections.
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Zvizdic also finds it “odd” that Lajcak neglected the stances of all relevant factors in Bosnia while preferring the stance of Serb leader Milorad Dodik, who disputes the heritage of all High Representatives.
“Lajcak lost the trust of Bosnian public with these biased moves and discredited himself in expressing the stances on Bosnia's problems and contributing to their solution,” underlined Zvizdic.
The Slovak diplomat was appointed the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina in June 2007 and for almost two years he headed the Office of the High Representative (OHR), whose role is to oversee the civil implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement, an international treaty which ended the 1992-95 Bosnian war.
