Konaković withdraws BiH Embassy staff, reduces relations with Serbia to a minimum

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Foreign Minister Elmedin Konaković announced at a press conference that he would withdraw all staff from the BiH Embassy in Belgrade due to the behavior of Serbian officials following the death of war criminal Ratko Mladić, the Kliks (klix.ba) portal reports.

Konaković said that he would withdraw all employees from the embassy except for ambassadors and consuls, given that there is no authority to withdraw them and that ambassadors and consuls are appointed by the Presidency of BiH.

Their jobs will in the future be performed by employees from the BiH embassies in Montenegro and Croatia, according to Kliks.

Konaković decided to take this step after today's funeral of Ratko Mladić, which was held in Belgrade and attended by numerous officials from Serbia and part of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The portal states that a commemoration was previously held in Serbia and that the media and statesmen are constantly encouraging the glorification of the criminal, as well as the crime he committed.

"The climax was last night at the Red Star match with the message 'Pravac Potočari'. That is the final alarm," said Konaković.

Although Konaković does not have the authority to completely sever diplomatic relations between BiH and Serbia, he expects to succeed in withdrawing all staff and thus leaving Ambassador Aleksandar Vranješ alone in Belgrade, writes Kliks.

"If I could, I would break off diplomatic relations with Serbia today. What I can do is work to reduce relations to the minimum possible. I will deny, I will reduce all communication with them. We will withdraw all the people we can withdraw, we will transfer consular affairs to Zagreb and Podgorica," Konaković said.

In addition to reducing relations with Serbia to a minimum, Konaković says he has prepared numerous diplomatic notes due to Serbia's behavior.

"We have done several drafts today, we are sending letters one after another, with different messages. First, I am publicly asking the EU, 'Do you really respect your principles? Are you protecting what you have obligated us to follow?' This is a primary issue of security policy. I will have a large number of phone conversations, perhaps some visits, because this is a primary issue for BiH," he said.

Konaković said that the EU must show whether it will tolerate what would never happen in the Union.

"The letter to the members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference will have its own specificity. They told me two things - Vučić's diplomacy succeeded because it was active for years in promoting lies, and ours was passive in promoting the truth. Now we will explain to them that that lie was a hoax," Konaković said.