The High Representative and EU Special Representative, Valentin Inzko met today in Sarajevo with Spanish Foreign Minister, Miguel Anhel Moratinos and US Deputy Secretary of State, James Steinberg.

“The situation in the country is troubling and October’s elections present an opportunity to reverse this trend,” said Inzko. The EU and US officials expressed the hope that the election campaign would focus on creating better living conditions for all as well as on concrete actions to ensure BiH moves as quickly as possible towards EU and NATO.

“These concrete actions relate to the economy and in general to reforms that will turn BiH into a credible EU Candidate country,” said Inzko. “It also means that political leaders refrain from artificially raising tensions”.

Noting calls for discussions on peaceful dissolution, EU and US officials agreed with the High Representative/EU Special Representative that Dayton does not provide for such a possibility. “These statements are unacceptable and they must stop,” said Inzko, who underlined that “BiH can only join the EU and NATO as a State, there is no other option”.

The fulfilment of objectives and conditions set by the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council for closure of OHR was also discussed. HR/EUSR Inzko informed Steinberg and Moratinos that what little progress was made recently was made by the OHR, which had compiled a state property inventory which can now be used as a basis for apportionment of state property.

Spanish Foreign Minister, Miguel Anhel Moratinos and US Deputy Secretary of State, James Steinberg are visiting BiH to encourage and accelerate progress towards European and Euro-Atlantic integration.