Hungarian Air Force Antonov An-26 military transport aircraft (illustrative image), PHOTO: Aviation Visuals / Alamy / Profimedia Images
Bosnia's defense minister on Wednesday refused to allow a military plane carrying Peter Szijjarto, Hungary's foreign minister, to land in Republika Srpska, accusing Budapest of supporting the Bosnian Serb leader in actions that undermine Bosnia's sovereignty, Reuters reported late on Wednesday.
Zukan Helez, Bosnia's defense minister, said Hungary had offered no explanation for the presence of Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto on the plane that was about to land in Banja Luka, the main city of Republika Srpska – the country's autonomous Serbian entity.
Szijjarto visited neighboring Serbia on Wednesday to discuss details of how Hungary can help Belgrade after crude supplies from Croatia were halted.
Helez claimed that Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Szijjarto openly supported Bosnian Serb separatist leader Milorad Dodik in actions that “undermine the sovereignty, territorial integrity and unity of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH)”.
“As the Minister of Defense of BiH, my duty is to protect the constitutional order, laws and interests of BiH,” Helez said in a message shared on Facebook.
“That is why I have decided not to approve this flight until full transparency and respect for our state is guaranteed.”
The Hungarian Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Szijjarto and Viktor Orban welcomed the Bosnian Serb leader to Budapest
Dodik, the former president of Republika Srpska, who was ousted after being convicted of defying the rulings of the international peace envoy and the Constitutional Court, boasted of Orban's support for his policies.
Dodik and his ally Sinisa Karan, who won the region's snap presidential election at the weekend, met Orban in Budapest on Wednesday.
Orban welcomed Dodik, known for his pro-Russian positions, to Budapest also in August, shortly after he was sentenced to a year in prison and the loss of the right to hold public office.
“President Dodik was condemned because he refused to dance to the tune of Brussels. Hungary does not accept this decision,” said Viktor Orban.
Szijjarto said then that “external interference” in the Western Balkans is dangerous.
“The will of the people in the region must be respected – questioning it threatens stability and peace. I met Milorad Dodik today to confirm Hungary's support,” Peter Szijjarto tweeted on August 5. He met in Budapest with the leader of the Bosnian Serbs in early September as well.
Dodik lost his post after a Bosnian appeals court upheld a February sentence against him for defying the Constitutional Court and the special peace envoy, whose role is to prevent multi-ethnic Bosnia from returning to civil war.
