DODIK: BiH FOREIGN POLICY COLLAPSES, SRPSKA HAS NOTHING TO REGRET

BANJA LUKA, APRIL 23 /SRNA/ – The foreign policy as envisaged in BiH no longer exists, and Republika Srpska should not regret that, as it has managed to overcome all restrictions and today maintains far more intensive contacts than before, said SNSD leader Milorad Dodik.

"Instead of talking about BiH, we should focus on how to strengthen the subjectivity of Republika Srpska", Dodik said while addressing a scientific discussion titled "Republika Srpska and Cooperation with Russia, the USA and the EU" in Banja Luka. He reminded that Republika Srpska did not have the authority to conduct foreign policy, but was only indirectly involved through BiH, not by accident, but in order to weaken one of its key instruments for presenting and explaining its position. "We then found ourselves in a situation where others spoke about us and made conclusions, while we were unable to present our views, except in exceptional circumstances," Dodik noted. He stressed that BiH's foreign policy has now become an instrument of Bosniak elites, representing the country in a way that reflects their positions. Dodik said that, for the West, Republika Srpska is seen as "a preemie" that should disappear, which is why it has issues with the EU, which has consistently promoted the unitarization of BiH. Those who argue that everything should be done for the sake of EU integration, Dodik said, are taking a disastrous approach that could lead to the collapse of Republika Srpska. "If we accept unitarization, we will regret it quickly; if we do not, we may face some hardship, but we will remain ourselves," Dodik said. He reiterated that BiH is a failed state and warned that, if separation does not occur within the next five years, Republika Srpska will be completely dismantled. Dodik pointed out that BiH is not being built through agreements, but through individual court rulings, claiming that the Court of BiH has usurped authority. "We are witnessing complete decadence, and I believe we have the right to oppose such a court domestically," Dodik added. He said that Republika Srpska has emerged from isolation, overcome various restrictions, and is now engaging with the new US administration. He pointed to the current political change in the United States is significant, as a "deep state" had long remained in the background, with policies staying the same despite changes in public leadership. "We always knew that when a Democratic administration came, we suffered in those processes," Dodik said, adding that remnants of previous structures in the US are still creating problems for Republika Srpska. He stressed that nothing was conceded in efforts to have sanctions lifted by the new US administration, as some claim, but that there has been significant understanding. Dodik said Republika Srpska remains in a strategic relationship with Russia and is working with the Trump-aligned segment of the US administration, adding that he was expected to travel to the USA on Saturday to receive an award as "Person of the Year" for the fight for democracy and freedom. "I will probably not be able to go," Dodik said, explaining that this is due to family reasons. He emphasized that Republika Srpska's policy is to engage with everyone and that it now has far more intensive contacts than before, highlighting the role of the Serb member of the BiH Presidency Željka Cvijanović. "She has shown persistence and resilience. We have shaped together this, Ana Trišić-Babić, myself, Budimir, Stevandić, approaching all issues in a principled manner. Republika Srpska has never had such a cohesive structure at the highest level on all key issues," Dodik concluded. The scientific discussion "Republika Srpska and Cooperation with Russia, the USA and the EU" gathered academics and professors from Serbia and Republika Srpska.