Croatia will not meddle in Bosnia's interior affairs, but it is its national interest to have all neighbours be stable and successful countries and Croatia is prepared to help them achieve that, Croatian President Ivo Josipovic said in an interview with the Sarajevo-based Oslobodjenje daily on Monday.
Commenting on the results of his recent official visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina and echoes of his statement that a third entity was not a solution to Bosnia's internal problems, Josipovic said this was his first official visit abroad after Croatia entered the European Union and that in diplomatic terms it was a successful one. He stressed, however, that cooperation between the two countries should not be measures by a single visit but by daily communication in which the governments were responsible for solving issues that occurred following the break-up of the former Yugoslavia, as we as those occurring following Croatia's EU admission.
"Let me say this once and for all: Croatia will not be involved in determining how will the peoples and citizens of another country regulate their relations, nor is such a thing possible. It is our national interest to have our neighbours, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, be stable and successful countries," Josipovic said underlining that in Bosnia's case this was possible should Bosnia find a model to realise the idea of the equality of peoples and citizens and even more precises, once the country finds a mechanism to protect the interests of a constituent people which is a minority in a certain part of the country.
Josipovic said Croatia's president should not be asked how many entities, cantons or regions would Bosnia have as a federal state as this was a problem that must be addressed by Bosnian politicians. He underscored Bosnia was also the homeland to Croats who live there and who have the right to decide on its fate.
"Croats are not a minority in Bosnia but an equal people," Josipovic said adding that for this reason one should not speak about minority rights for Croats and European standards for minorities.
Josipovic added that Croatia's position towards Croats in Bosnia remained unchanged.
He called on Bosnia and other countries of the region to continue to be determined in implementing reform processes necessary for drawing closer to Euro-Atlantic associations. He also advocated partnership in the region, in light of a recent informal summit held in Slovenia.
Josipovic said that the incumbent Croatian government, "whose stability is not threatened" despite economic difficulties, was investing efforts in the regional policy.
