Fidan to participate in trilateral meeting with Bosnian and Croatian counterparts

ANKARA

A trilateral meeting between Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia will take place this weekend at the level of foreign ministers, according to diplomatic sources.

Croatian Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will travel to the Croatian seaside city of Dubrovnik on June 29, where the ninth meeting of the Turkey-Bosnia-Croatia trilateral consultation mechanism will be held. Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman will welcome Hakan Fidan and Bosnian Foreign Minister Elmedin Konakovic.

The last meeting of the trilateral mechanism took place in 2020 in Antalya.

Sources said the meeting would focus on joint measures aimed at improving cooperation between the three countries as well as protecting peace and stability in Bosnia.

Fidan is expected to highlight Turkey’s call for continued high-level dialogue between the three countries regarding Bosnia’s stability and emphasize Turkey’s strong support for the country’s territorial integrity.

It will also reiterate Ankara’s concerns regarding separatist actions and rhetoric in Bosnia and emphasize the importance for all segments of society to work for the country’s common future and abandon their separatist agendas.

Another message he is expected to convey to Dubrovnik will be about strengthening the connectivity and infrastructure of the Balkan region and the importance Turkey attaches to such projects.

Turkey is one of the countries paying the most attention to developments in the Balkan region due to persistent border and sovereignty conflicts between different regional players, mainly Serbia, Kosovo and Bosnia.

Besides bilateral issues, Fidan will also address the current Russian occupation of Ukraine and the Israeli offensive against civilians in Gaza, which has already claimed the lives of more than 36,000 people, mostly women and children.