Bosnian Serbs oppose the construction plans of the Sarajevo-Belgrade highway, for which Turkey says it is ready to offer 3 billion euros.
The Bosnian Transport and Communication Minister Ismir Jusko is expected to visit Ankara soon in order to see what its terms are in return for such funding, but Republika Srpska has made it clear that will not back the deal.
Jusko says that a letter on the goals of both countries was signed on May 20, and again Bosnia and Serbia have not yet decided how the highway will work, which should link the capitals of both countries.His counterpart of Republika Srpska, Neđo Trninić, insists that Bosnian institutions have no jurisdiction over the issue and that the two entities in the country, the Republika Srpska and the Bosnian-Croat Federation, have to agree on this highway.
"The letter signed by Turkey and Bosnia is of no value if the agreement with the Republic of Serbia is not reached as well," Trninić claims.
Experts believe that the negative reaction of Bosnian Serbs to the financial pact with Turkey is politically motivated and plagued by lack of expertise. The promise to help connect the two capitals through a highway is made by Turkish President Erdogan on January this year following a meeting he had in Istanbul with the Bosnian Presidency member, Bakir Izetbegovic, and the Serbian head of state Aleksandar Vucic.