Former Croatian Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic appeared on N1’s show "Pressing" to discuss a range of current political issues, including the visit of the CIA director to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), US sanctions on Republika Srpska (RS) entity President Milorad Dodik, the upcoming US elections, and the policies of the "Trojka" coalition.

Addressing the situation in BiH and the broader region, Pusic said: “Why is there a superficial approach to BiH and to the Southeast European region in general? Because the world is changing dramatically and rapidly, and in those circumstances, this part of Europe, which is unstable, is affected. I would say that BiH has not yet completed its state-building, and the whole process of joining the EU would complete that.”

Speaking about the upcoming US elections, Pusic expressed her opinion on the potential outcome: “I believe Kamala Harris will win convincingly.”

Regarding U.S. engagement in the region, she emphasized the seriousness of American interest.

“America takes this region seriously, they are not sending intermediaries of intermediaries, they are sending the top tier, and I think that is a good sign.”

Pusic also voiced her skepticism toward European diplomatic efforts, despite the leadership of Kaja Kallas.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have much trust in the European diplomatic council, although Kaja Kallas is coming to lead it, which is a different story. She has clear positions and understands the situation with Russia. The European Union hasn’t had a defence portfolio before, but now it does, and it’s been given to a Lithuanian, the former Prime Minister of Lithuania. It’s interesting because he has a very clear stance on Russian aggression against Ukraine and the need to defend Ukraine as a way to defend Europe.”

The former Croatian diplomat addressed fears of Putin using nuclear weapons, stating, “I don’t think citizens should be afraid that Putin will use a nuclear bomb, but there are other things they should fear.”

After the CIA director's visit to BiH, rumours circulated that Milorad Dodik had been offered a deal to step down in exchange for retaining his freedom and assets. When asked about this, Pusic said:

“I have no information of the sort. I cannot confirm whether it happened or not, but from my experience, if it hasn’t happened, it will at some point. This is the kind of approach that would be appropriate in this situation. Especially considering that Dodik is a big pragmatist, he only cares about his own security, and he strikes me as a transactional politician – you give him this, he gives you that. In other words, he is ready to make a deal. Only the Americans could offer him such a thing.”

Pusic also reflected on the opposition in Republika Srpska:

“We saw in the RS elections that the opposition to Dodik seemed worse than Dodik, at least to me. Their views weren’t different. But I’ve had the impression until recently, that the RS society was completely destroyed, that people had left, but I’ve seen that it’s not entirely like that. There are people, younger people, who have some normal political reasoning, and who basically want the state to function. They’re not directly in politics, but they’re interested in it, they analyze it, and that’s something I didn’t expect. I thought there was no alternative.”

On the subject of sanctions, Pusić remarked, “The U.S. sanctions obviously haven’t hurt Dodik. Why doesn’t Europe get on board with those sanctions? I think there’s no unified stance. The sanctions didn’t affect Dodik because his money is probably in Russia, not in America. In Europe, he has allies like Fico and Orban, people similar to him.”

She also commented on the “Trojka” coalition’s policy approach, saying:

“This is not a policy of compromise; it’s a policy of necessity. They didn’t choose to make compromises with Dodik and Dragan Covic, these are the given coordinates. The future of BiH lies in the hands of people like those from Nasa Stranka, not specifically them, but people who see BiH as a state, with protection of collective rights, but since the 18th century, there hasn’t been a modern state that isn’t based on individual rights, and then collective ones. I feel sorry that the Trojka is being trampled for their compromises and mistakes. It would be much easier for them if they didn’t have to work with Covic and Dodik.”