Foreign policy falls within the jurisdiction of the BiH Presidency, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is an institution responsible for implementing the adopted foreign policy, Republika Srpska Justice Minister Goran Selak said.
He argued that Foreign Minister Elmedin Konaković should be aware of this before taking actions that Selak described as unconstitutional and unlawful.
Commenting on Konaković’s decision to declare Milan Dulanović, the military attaché at the Serbian Embassy, and Danko Maksimović, an adviser to the Serbian Intelligence and Security Agency (BIA) representative at the embassy, persona non grata and give them 48 hours to leave BiH, Selak questioned whether the move could even be described as a formal decision.
“A decision carries legal weight and must have a basis in the Constitution and the law. This looks more like an election campaign pamphlet than a serious act of a BiH institution,” Selak said.
He stressed that the joint institutions of BiH belong equally to all constituent peoples and entities and argued that no one, including Konaković, has the right to appropriate them or use them to impose personal political positions.
Selak said Konaković is entitled to his personal views and political opinions, including his own attitude toward Serbia, but argued that he has no right to present those positions as the official position of BiH and, in particular, cannot speak on behalf of Republika Srpska.
“Serbia is the most important partner for Republika Srpska and a country with which we share special historical, national, cultural, and economic ties. Instead of contributing, as foreign minister, to strengthening trust, good-neighborly relations, and cooperation with Serbia and other neighboring countries, Konaković is further deepening divisions and worsening relations through his actions,” Selak said.
Source: RTRS
