DODIK CRITICIZES EU MESSAGES WHILE DEFENDING SRPSKA'S AUTONOMY

ST. PETERSBURG, JUNE 5 /SRNA/ – SNSD President Milorad Dodik has stated he does not believe in the concept of the European Union and does not consider it beneficial for Serbs, Serbia or Republika Srpska.

"At a time when the concept of BiH itself remains unresolved, we are being offered a narrative that would ultimately force us, through the EU, to surrender our autonomy. We will not do that", Dodik told media outlets from Republika Srpska in St. Petersburg. Commenting on messages from the EU-Western Balkans Summit held in Tivat, Dodik said he does not trust the EU and accused it of misleading the region. He argued that the EU is undergoing militarization, seeking to establish its own international military forces and preparing for a potential conflict with Russia by 2030. According to Dodik, this is why the bloc needs the Balkans as part of its organizational structure. "I believe this is a deception, a bluff designed to trap and draw us in, so that tomorrow, through joint security and foreign policies, our young men would be forced into their military formations and potentially fight against Russia, and perhaps even America or China. We will not do that. We will remain neutral", Dodik said. Referring to remarks made by Denis Bećirović, the Bosniak member of the BiH Presidency, at the Tivat summit, Dodik said that one of the most serious challenges to BiH comes when a Presidency member speaks solely in his own name while presenting those views as the position of BiH. "Such a BiH cannot survive", Dodik said. He reiterated that he welcomes what he described as growing divisions among Western elites regarding international interventionism in BiH. "France is proposing a candidate for high representative in BiH who is oriented toward Muslim interests. Do they really think we are naïve enough to accept someone who is a proven lobbyist for Muslims"? Dodik asked. He pointed out that the new political leadership in the United States appears determined to address the issue of interventionism, citing statements that Washington does not want to govern other countries or engage in nation-building. Dodik added that Bosniak politicians believe BiH can function only if it is fully dominated by their political agenda and that they are unwilling to address the concerns of Croats, who do not want to be outvoted or Serbs, who do not want to lose the rights guaranteed to them under the Constitution. "BiH was not created to thrive but to endure suffering. The problem is that one day that suffering must end. They are deeply complicit in everything that is happening in BiH, and over the past two days they have experienced a complete fiasco", Dodik said. He emphasized that there is not a single issue, in his view, that foreign intervention has "resolved" to the benefit of Republika Srpska. "If the property issue is not resolved in this period, I believe we will have to pursue some form of liberation struggle, which may be a political struggle against foreign interventionism", Dodik said.