Zeljko Komsic, the Chairman of Bosnia's tripartite Presidency, strongly condemned the statement by Russian Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Igor Kalabukhov, who warned that Russia would react if Bosnia became a NATO member state.

By “threatening to Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Komsic stressed, the Russian ambassador referred to the example of Ukraine.

“I strongly condemn the threats that the Russian Federation's Ambassador to BiH presented commenting on a possibility of Bosnia and Herzegovina becoming a NATO member state. The Russian ambassador's message that Russia's reaction would follow, where he mentions the example of Ukraine against which Russia committed an aggression, is unambiguous, but is at the same time unacceptable for Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Komsic said.

He noted that Bosnia's decision to join NATO can be only the decision of its institutions, and not a cause for an attack on the country.

“We are aware of the change in the position of the Russian Federation regarding the decisions of the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which the Russian Federation earlier respected, and that this has not been the case in the last few years. However, as the Chairman of the Presidency of BiH, I am obliged to condemn and reject the threats, which are not only threats to Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also threats to peace and stability in the Western Balkans,” said Komsic.

Speaking to public broadcaster in Bosnia's Federation entity, FTV, Kalabukhov said that Bosnia's decision to become a member state of any alliance is the country's internal matter but that “our response is a different matter.”

“Ukraine's example shows what we expect,” he said.