DODIK: WE SURVIVED AS REPUBLIKA SRPSKA AND HAVE NO INTENTION TO SURRENDER

BANJA LUKA, MAY 25 /SRNA/ - Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik has stated that Muslims in Sarajevo took advantage of the political climate in the West to impose the centralization of BiH and to try to end the war with their assistance.

“We survived as Republika Srpska and we have no intention of surrendering,” Dodik told the press. He believes that during the chit-chats in Sarajevo the position is being formed that they need to endure three more years of Donald Trump adminustration, so they can go back to the old ways, but he questions whether they will be able to endure that long. A dialogue is needed now, he said, Republika Srpska is always ready. Dodik welcomed what he sees as a rational shift in approach from the U.S. administration toward the problems in the region. “That helps - it makes things somewhat easier for us, but remnants of past policies are still present in Sarajevo, where they try to portray Republika Srpska in a negative light using the same old lies they pushed in various centres of power,” Dodik said. He has added that what is currently happening at the BiH level is a product of those delusions. Still, he noted, if a high-ranking official from the U.S. State Department says policies should be guided by realism and that it’s time to abandon those that aren’t working and adapt to new ones, that is certainly helpful. Dodik emphasized that the U.S. appears to have only a general interest in BiH and no clearly defined strategy, except to encourage an agreement without imposing solutions. He has also pointed out what he sees as an increasingly “decadent” approach from European institutions, noting that they are historically hiding behind American offices and now trying to implement rigid policies without a strong U.S. sponsor like a powerful U.S. ambassador in Sarajevo. “That’s not something that makes us happy, but it shouldn’t worry us either. We must continue to pursue our own policies. Republika Srpska remains successful, stable, and committed to its goals,” Dodik concluded.