NATO never made it a condition or linked the government formation in Bosnia with the Annual National Programme (ANP), NATO's senior official James Appathurai told Radio Free Europe (RFE) speaking about the challenges that the Western Balkan region is facing.

The Alliance possesses no mechanism to oblige the official Sarajevo to submit the country's first ANP, he said, recalling that they were invited to do so nearly a year ago.

“And we are still open to receive the Annual National Programme. From our point of view, we want the Annual National Programme to be submitted because it offers us a greater opportunity to support reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I think everybody, in all parts of the government but also in population, wants the reforms to go forward and this helps us to help,” said Appathurai, Deputy Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Security Policy and NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia.

NATO does not oblige Bosnia and it does not impose anything, according to him.

“Of course there is a political resonance to it as well but really it's a practical tool for us. And so, we are very open to its being provided to us from the authorities there but, of course, we don't oblige, we don't impose. And it is very much up to the government and the people of the country,” he added.

Nearly a year ago, the NATO ministers invited Bosnia to submit its first ANP, which would practically activate Bosnia's Membership Action Plan (MAP) with the NATO.

But, due to political disagreements among major ethnic groups in Bosnia on whether the country should move closer to the alliance or not, the document still has not been adopted or sent to Brussels and it, moreover, caused a stalemate in the post-election government formation.