Bosnia has the right to defend and protect itself and if other countries deploy armies to their borders, there is no reason why Bosnia would not do the same, Defence Minister Fahrudin Radoncic said Wednesday, following Croatia's announcement that they might deploy the army to control the migrant situation.

“If other countries deploy their armies along the borders, I see no serious reason why Bosnia wouldn’t do the same. We can use the army for logistics needs but the key is that the Presidency adopts a united decision that Bosnia should deploy its armed forces in a worst-case scenario,” Radoncic said.

Bosnia’s Presidency consists of three members, coming from the three constituent peoples – Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats. The Serb Presidency member Milorad Dodik’s position on this issue was that Bosnia’s Armed Forces cannot be deployed to the border, but Radoncic sees things differently:

“In the end, we might be forced to do this. I think we have a legitimate right to use all our potentials in defending our way of life, our sovereignty and our citizens.”

Radoncic reiterated that Bosnia does not have the capacity to accommodate 10,000 migrants daily, the number estimated by international experts following the Turkish announcement that they would open their borders and let migrants continue their journey towards the EU.

Radoncic concluded that Bosnia is barely coping with the migrants already staying in the country.