ĆERANIĆ: DODIK'S WASHINGTON TRIP SIGNALS DIPLOMATIC VICTORY FOR SRPSKA

BELGRADE, FEBRUARY 5 /SRNA/ – The Dean of the Faculty of Security Sciences in Banja Luka Predrag Ćeranić assessed that the visit of the Republika Srpska delegation to Washington and SNSD President Milorad Dodik's attendance at the National Prayer Breakfast represent a major diplomatic victory for Srpska, indirectly confirmed by political circles in Sarajevo.

Ćeranić emphasized that political actors in Sarajevo secretly admire Dodik for the turnaround he has achieved in relations with the United States. He also pointed to Dodik's diplomatic success during his trip to Israel, where he met with the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "Those meetings and talks can only benefit Republika Srpska by ending the double standards previously applied to it," Ćeranić told SRNA. He reminded that until recently, people in Srpska involved in media or the economy could not be sure they wouldn't appear on a US blacklist because of their views, sympathies toward the Russian Federation, or support for Dodik and his party. "Now the situation is completely different, as the sanctions no longer exist. With the arrival of Donald Trump's administration in the USA, new principles and priorities have been set in international and Balkan politics," Ćeranić said. He noted that the delegation's visit to the USA and the lifting of American sanctions on Dodik, his team, and economic entities have created a more relaxed atmosphere for everyone in BiH, particularly those active in public life. Ćeranić added that the changes initiated by the US are shifting the narrative that casts Serbs as "aggressors and villains" and Bosniaks as "victims and heroes," while simultaneously creating opportunity for the Serb people to achieve what they truly desire: equal status in BiH and stronger ties with Serbia as their motherland. "That is precisely what pains political Sarajevo. They secretly admire Dodik in the media while criticizing their own political `troika,`" Ćeranić said. He pointed out that Fahrudin Radončić, in an interview, questioned what the leaders of the `troika` had accomplished while Dodik, as party president, toured global capitals and centers of power, leaving questions about the outcomes of these efforts. "Therefore, regardless of their opinions or criticisms of Dodik, there is genuine, if discreet, respect for him in Sarajevo. That makes his Washington visit a very positive development. It resonated like a bomb in Sarajevo, and I believe throughout the region," Ćeranić said.