Davutoğlu deems Bosnia’s stability key for peace in Balkans

During a joint press appearance with his Bosnian counterpart, Zlatko Lagumdzija, in Sarajevo on Friday, Davutoğlu said Turkey will continue to commit to peace, prosperity and stability in the Balkans.

“We are acting with the view of turning the Balkans into a peaceful, stable and prosperous region. And the Balkans having peace, stability and security is directly related to having peace and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Davutoğlu said.

Noting that he discussed bilateral economic relations between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Turkey during his private talk with Lagumdzija, Davutoğlu said Turkey is preparing to back many economic projects in Bosnia that would focus on increasing employment in the country and the repatriation of Bosnians displaced during the war of the early 1990s.

The Turkish foreign minister also gave positive signals on Bosnia’s integration into NATO, saying that the countries in the region, including Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, Albania, Hungary and Greece, in addition to Turkey, support Bosnia’s efforts on that matter.

Lagumdzija expressed gratitude for the Turkish support of Bosnian efforts and anticipated a positive decision would be made on Bosnia’s integration into the 28-member security mechanism in an upcoming NATO summit in Chicago on May 20-21.

While in Sarajevo, Davutoğlu also hold separate talks with the three members of the Presidency; Bosniak member Bakir Izetbegovic, who also paid a visit to Turkey prior to assuming the presidency, Serb member Nebojsa Radmanovic; and Croat Zeljko Komsic.