Covic welcomes U.S. policy shift toward Dodik as a “contribution to peace and a stable, European BiH”

Speaking to reporters in Mostar after laying a wreath at the central memorial for fallen Croatian defenders, the leader of the Croat Democratic Union in BiH (HDZ BiH) said the recent decision by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to lift sanctions on Milorad Dodik, his family members, and close associates reflected a “completely different approach” by the administration of President Donald Trump compared to ten months ago.

“If this is a contribution that allows us to find solutions for Bosnia and Herzegovina as a whole, our homeland, in peace, then we are on the right path to reach an agreement and leave the wounds and scars of the war behind us,” Covic said.

The HDZ BiH leader added that the main goal of the Croat political leadership is to “stabilize relations in order to open Bosnia and Herzegovina’s European path.”

Covic expressed confidence that the European Council’s upcoming session in December could produce a decision to set a date for the start of EU accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina.

That step, he said, requires the appointment of a chief negotiator and the adoption of two key judicial reform laws — on the State Court and on the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC).

He also called for the “preservation of the equality of the three constituent peoples in accordance with the Constitution” and stressed that political representatives in all levels of government “must be legitimately elected, without being outvoted by numerically larger groups.”