TRIŠIĆ BABIĆ: SARAJEVO HAS SHOWN HOSTILITY TOWARD RELIGIOUS LEADERS

BANJA LUKA, JUNE 14 /SRNA/ - Advisor to the President of Republika Srpska, Ana Trišić Babić, told SRNA that by canceling the Conference of European Rabbis, Sarajevo openly demonstrated hostility toward religious leaders, in this case, Jews.

“What we from Republika Srpska have been saying has now been confirmed - that Sarajevo is not what many remember it to be. Sarajevo is not that same city when the Film Festival is held, giving off the impression of a multiethnic place. We are witnesses to how many Serbs and Croats have left Sarajevo, and in the end, they themselves admitted the nature of their reality and relationships,” Trišić Babić said in an SRNA podcast. She recalled that the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, had invited the next Conference of European Rabbis to be held in Republika Srpska. "These people didn’t even get to arrive in Sarajevo before being met with a barrage of hostile attacks. A minister from the FBiH Government even made a public statement. That was a clear signal to them that institutions were involved and that their safety was at risk," Trišić Babić emphasized. PRESIDENT DODIK ACTED RESPONSIBLY AND DID NOT FOLLOW EUROPE’S POLICY TOWARD MOSCOW Regarding alignment in the international political arena, Trišić Babić said it was Republika Srpska, thanks to the Dayton-based mechanisms that blocked Sarajevo’s attempts to impose sanctions on the Russian Federation - actions that would have clearly aligned BiH with one side and led to consequences. “That couldn’t be implemented at the level of BiH because Republika Srpska did not give its consent,” Trišić Babić stressed. She reminded that at the start of the Russian Federation’s Special Military Operation in Ukraine, the President of Republika Srpska - then the Serb member of the BiH Presidency - Milorad Dodik, stated he would not interfere and proposed that a neutral stance be adopted by the Presidency. “It was very difficult for us, as both Russia and Ukraine are brotherly nations to us. It was requested that BiH officially adopt a neutral stance and declare ourselves in international organizations accordingly,” Trišić Babić stated. She told SRNA that Milorad Dodik acted responsibly by not following the policy of the majority of European countries toward Russia, emphasizing that Republika Srpska will not, and must not, abandon its friends. “Russia is one of the guarantors of the Dayton Peace Agreement. It was a member of the Peace Implementation Council /PIC)/ before the chaos with Christian Schmidt began. Russia also prevented the adoption of the Srebrenica resolution. Republika Srpska has not closed its doors to anyone,” said Trišić Babić.