Ambassador: Erdogan made no controversial statement

Ambassador: Erdogan made no controversial statement

According to the some Bosnian outlets, Erdogan said that "that anyone who would in any way upset Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) would face the opposition of 100 million Turks" - after which leader of Bosnia's Serb entity, RS, Milorad Dodik, was invited for "urgent consultations" with Serbia's Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić.

Bozay told the news agency that he would inform Serbia's authorities about this on Monday that Erdogan did not make the statement attributed to him.

"The Turkish prime minister never made the statement," Bozay said, adding that the reports "do not reflect the truth in any way."

Bozay said that Turkish Ambassador in Sarajevo Cihad Erginay notified the local authorities that no such statement was made.

Bozay said that he saw certain media in Serbia reported the untrue allegations as well, which is why he will officially notify the Serbian authorities about this matter on Monday.

Without naming any sources, some media said that at a gathering within the electoral campaign, Erdogan allegedly said that anyone who dares upset Bosniaks in any way would face 100 million Turks, and added that this is the reason why it should not come as a surprise if a Turkish war ship sailed in at Neum - a port in Bosnia on the shore of the Adriatic Sea - "because this is a sign of support to the Bosnia-Herzegovina sovereignty."

It was originally announced that military exercises of the Turkish Naval Forces would take place in Neum from July 14 to 19, but no official consent has been issued by Sarajevo yet.

"Urgent consultations"

Previously on Sunday, it was reported that Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić would confer with Serb Republic (RS) President Milorad Dodik in Belgrade on Monday, whom he invited for urgent consultations after the statement reportedly made by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Vučić received Dodik's letter on Sunday, in which the RS president expressed the concern over the statements made by the Turkish prime minister.

Vučić believes that any statements that jeopardize the fragile regional stability are not good and expressed the expectation that the EU, "and particularly Germany," would provide assistance in the preservation of regional peace and security, said a statement from the government.

It added that Serbia "has always been committed to peace and stability and will remain such in the future as well, and will not allow others to destroy what Western Balkan countries and nations have created in the past decade."

The report about Erdogan's alleged statements appeared in Croatia's Večernji List daily in its the edition for Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Dodik sent a letter to the Serbian prime minister in which he asked for a meeting concerning the statement made by Erdogan, the Serb entity's public broadcaster RTRS reported, quoting the Srna news agency.

In his letter to Vučić, Dodik asked for a meeting with the Serbian prime minister as soon as possible, noting that they are government representatives with the highest degree of responsibility in Serbia and RS who should find adequate solutions for the protection of national interests.

"I believe that you are aware of the latest overt brutal attacks by Turkey's top officials on peace and stability in Bosnia-Herzegovina, where RS is one out of the two constitutive entities and Serbs are one of the three constitutive nations, Dodik said in the letter and added that the latest threats voiced by Prime Minister Erdogan from Turkey against all those who are not Bosniaks constitute just one in a series of incidents Turkey has been giving rise to in Bosnia-Herzegovina over the past years.

Noting that he highly appreciates the unbiased and peace-minded policy Serbia is conducting toward its neighbors, including Bosnia-Herzegovina, Dodik said that it is an obligation for RS representatives to warn Vučić as the Serbian prime minister that certain countries maintain a diametrically opposite policy to that upheld by the government of the Republic of Serbia.

“We expect the Republic of Serbia to continue contributing to peace and stability in the region through their actions, but also to protect the Dayton Treaty, RS and the Serbs in Bosnia-Herzegovina,” Dodik said as quoted by the RTRS.