The Croatian National Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HNS BiH) said in a statement on Saturday that the construction of a gas pipeline towards Croatia and the continuation of Euro-Atlantic integration were strategically important.

“The HNS BiH emphasises its full commitment to strengthening the energy diversification and security of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Therefore, the Southern Interconnection project is a strategic energy route both for the Croats and for Bosnia and Herzegovina as a whole,” the umbrella organisation of leading Bosnian Croat political parties said in a statement.

The statement came after the US Ambassador in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Michael Murphy, criticised the leader of the HNS BiH and HDZ BiH party, Dragan Covic, on Friday for obstructing the Southern Interconnection project, which would connect the BiH gas network to the LNG terminal on the northern Croatian island of Krk, and further European integration. BiH is currently supplied with gas via the TurkStream pipeline, a Turkish-Russian project.

“Instead of moving forward with BH-Gas, the only organization with the capacity and preparation to undertake the project as the implementer, HDZ BiH is now insisting on the establishment of a second gas transmission system operator under ethnic Croat control. This has no basis in law and is both technically and economically illogical,” Murphy said.

The HNS BiH noted that it was the Council of Ministers, the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina headed by Borjana Krišto from the HDZ BiH party, that had recently supported the construction of the Southern Interconnection and called for accelerating the project. The importance of this project was also highlighted at last week’s joint session of the Croatian government and the Council of Ministers.

The HNS BiH called on the domestic and international partners to also take into account “the interests of all constituent peoples and other citizens” when it comes to the issue of gas diversification. It also noted that the Croats were leaders of Euro-Atlantic integration in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“The HNS BiH’s commitment to its Western partners and allies and to full membership of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the European Union and NATO remains durable and unquestionable,” the organisation said.