'Bosnia is ready to support Turkey's war on FETO'

BELGRADE, Serbia

The head of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s government Thursday expressed his country’s readiness to support Turkey however it can in the fight against the terrorist group FETO.

"We are ready to give any kind of support to Turkey in the fight against FETO. It is very important to fight terrorist organizations that work against the elected government. Turkey is a great organized country that successfully got through a coup attempt," said Denis Zvizdic, the chairman of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Council of Ministers, while visiting Anadolu Agency’s Sarajevo office.

The Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), led by U.S.-based Fetullah Gulen, has been accused of orchestrating the defeated coup of July 2016 in Turkey that left at least 249 people martyred, and around 2,200 others wounded.

Zvizdic made the visit to mark the fifth anniversary of the agency’s language unit based in Sarajevo, which falls on March 11. The unit covers the Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian languages.

Zvizdic said that if the coup attempt in a NATO member and an economic power like Turkey had succeeded, Balkan countries would also have been adversely affected.

As Bosnia-Herzegovina is more fragile than Turkey, it should be careful about this issue, he said.

"I think that not only FETO, but also the parallel communities and similar structures that have emerged before can cause problems in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Bosnia-Herzegovina has responded in an organized way, institutionally and democratically, at the level of all state institutions and religious institutions. This will continue," said Zvizdic.

‘Turkey is a true friend of Bosnia-Herzegovina’

On relations between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Turkey, Zvizdic said that Turkey is a true friend.

"Turkey has never been involved in our internal affairs -- it is one of the greatest supporters of Bosnia-Herzegovina's path to EU membership."

Zvizdic also said Turkey is one of the most important countries supporting regional cooperation in the Balkans.

"Turkish investments in the region have contributed greatly to economic development," said Zvizdic.

"Economic relations between our two countries should be strengthened in the future, and we aim for our trade with Turkey next year to reach $1 billion," he added.