DUE TO DEMONSTRATIONS, SERBIA LOST OPPORTUNITY TO BE CAPITAL OF PEACE NEGOTIATIONS ON UKRAINE

BIJELJINA, AUGUST 29 /SRNA/ – The President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik stated that due to street demonstrations, Serbia has lost the opportunity to become the "capital of peace negotiations" on Ukraine.

"I know this well. There were very serious discussions about Belgrade being one of the destinations for meetings of world leaders at the global level. That is now practically off the table. How are world leaders supposed to come to Belgrade when you don't even know which street is blocked? That’s what we’ve ended up with," Dodik said Politika interview. He emphasized that instead of having a strong president like Aleksandar Vučić, who carries the authority of a country that supports him, there are those "walking and whistling" in protests. "And what do we get? Serbia labeled by street demonstrations and nothing more. Why are you doing this to us?" Dodik asked. He also expressed hope that Serbia's national basketball team will win gold at the European Championship. "I'm watching how they play defence, how Pešić has set it up. The fire in our guys, how they cover the space and the air - I haven’t seen anything like that before," said Dodik.