Bosnia and Herzegovina can count on the support of France and European Union in terms of its potential membership in the European Union and NATO, French foreign minister Catherine Colonna told her Bosnian counterpart Bisera Turkovic, stressing that she has been closely following the situation in BiH.

According to the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colonna replied to Turkovic's earlier letter, saying she was aware of the “external interference and veiled threats” against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

She also welcomed Turkovic's efforts towards harmonising of Bosnia and Herzegovina's stances with those of the EU regarding the Ukrainian conflict, “despite the internal situation that I know is very complex.”

“Solidarity in the times of crisis is the basic value for the membership in the European Union,” said the French minister.

Colonna emphasised France's support to the EU military deployment in Bosnia and Herzegovina, EUFOR Althea mission, which is currently commanded by a French general, at a moment when “unjustified actions by Russia led to the return of the war on the European soil, which sparked justified concerns in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

“Be sure of our dedication to the maintaining of this mission,” she stressed.

The minister also recalled of the French president's speech on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, in which he said that “there is no place for denial, for historical revisionism or glorification of convicted war criminals, in a country that expressed its desire to join the European Union thus its values.”

“These are the topics that we follow with special caution. You can count on our determination to work alongside you for the country's stability and a shared future of peace and prosperity,” Colonna wrote in her letter and called for the adoption of the conclusions from the June 12 Brussels meeting between the EU officials and Bosnian political representatives.