Christian Schmidt, the High Representative in BiH and Gabriel Escobar, Special Envoy of the United States of America for the Western Balkans, spoke in Bled, Slovenia, on Tuesday, as part of the 17th Strategic Forum titled "The rule of power or the power of rules."

Escobar spoke about overall relations in the Western Balkans.

“We must create an atmosphere where minorities feel represented, valued, integrated. That is a task not only for governments on the ground but for civil societies, political parties, the international community,” he said.

On the other hand, Schmidt said that the region is engulfed by the so-called blame game, which he wished would change.

“We need people in BiH, as in other countries of the Western Balkans, to take matters into their own hands and decide what to do. I would really make a distinction between political parties, those who are in power and those who want to get closer to the European Union. We need help and the people need our help, but the crucial thing is up to the people, the inhabitants of BiH. Accordingly, it is not healthy that one a generation after the conflict in the Western Balkans is over, we just sit and do nothing. We must have European integration,” said Schmidt.

The greater part of the international community must understand that we are only here to support this part of Europe, not to govern it, Schmidt said.