We congratulate Bosnia and Herzegovina for being granted European Union candidate status at the European Council Summit held in Brussels on 14-15 December 2022.

Türkiye takes many steps towards the peace and prosperity of the Balkans, of which we are a part, both at the bilateral and international level, and supports all efforts in this direction. Within this framework, Türkiye has supported the integration of the Balkan countries with the EU and the Euro-Atlantic institutions from the very beginning.

In this respect, we welcome the aforementioned decision of the EU and consider that it will make a contribution to the peace and stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region.

We believe that the conditions specified in the decision will be fulfilled by Bosnia and Herzegovina as soon as possible, and we expect the EU to constructively support the process.

On this occasion, we emphasize once again the importance of conducting the negotiation processes of EU candidate countries, including Türkiye, in a fair and determined manner, without being politicized by myopic national motives.