Plenkovic in Dayton: The Western Balkans Key for Long-Longer Peace in Europe and the Power of NATO

The Western Balkans is crucial for long -lasting peace in Europe and the power of NATO, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said in Dayton on Sunday, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Dayton Agreement, adding that Croatia supports the European aspirations of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

« The Western Balkans is not a peripheral question. He is crucial to the long -term peace of Europe and the power of our Transatlantic Association, » Plenkovic said at the reception « Renewed Focus on Peace and Prosperity in the Balkans ».

The Prime Minister participates in the Spring Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Dayton, where a agreement was signed 30 years ago that ended the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Despite the fact that 30 years have passed, the memory of the brutal war, human suffering and destruction, and especially in BiH, is still alive, the Prime Minister said.

He said that Croatia, one of the signatory to the Agreement, was « proud of the constructive and crucial role » that it had in the end of that war.

« And she stood next to BiH in her darkest moments, providing refugee shelter, maintaining humanitarian corridors open and finally, performing decisive military operations that prepared the path to peace, » Plenkovic said.

He added that this solidarity continues today and that Croatia is still one of the most reliable partners of BiH, supporting its Euro -Atlantic aspirations and advocating reforms, dialogue and equal rights for all its constituent peoples.

He emphasized that the rights of Croats should never depend only on « demographic data » because Bosnia and Herzegovina is their homeland, which they « defended, built and contributed to its future. »

« Croatia, however, has a moral duty and strategic interest in ensuring that Croats in BiH enjoy equal rights, not special privileges, » he said.

He added that Croatia continues to advocate an inclusive dialogue and a compromise within Bosnia and Herzegovina so that it could fully achieve its potential as a « stable, democratic and prosperous state. »

« And as in the 1990s, we will offer that same support to other countries in Southeast Europe on their way to stability, prosperity and integration in the Transatlantic Community, » he said.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is in addition to Serbia and Kosovo, the only Western Balkan country that is not a NATO member.