AT IMPORTANT ADDRESSES, WITH IMPORTANT CONTACTS, AT RIGHT TIME

BELGRADE, JUNE 14 /SRNA/ – The Serb BiH Presidency member Željka Cvijanović said that during her visits to the United States she had the opportunity to hold discussions at important institutions where she presented the positions of Republika Srpska, stressing that understanding is essential in politics.

Cvijanović said it is easier to speak with people in the Donald Trump administration than it was with previous U.S. administrations. “All of my interlocutors have been excellent, and I am particularly pleased that there is now a completely different atmosphere when you visit America. Because of that, you can speak more freely and in a way that makes people willing to listen to and respect your views,” Cvijanović told RTS. She added that although they do not agree on everything, they share common views on fundamental issues that are important to people living in Republika Srpska and Serbia. “You can feel the commitment to preserving human, family, and traditional values, and it is easy to find interlocutors who share those values and recognise how important they are to preserve,” she said. Cvijanović also highlighted her meeting in Washington with the second man of the U.S. State Department Christopher Landau, whom she described as a distinguished gentleman with whom she has had the opportunity to speak on several occasions. “Landau said that they want to have a normal, rational approach toward everyone, that they do not wish to show preference to any side, that they respect the Serb people as well as others, and that this should be reflected in their policy,” Cvijanović said. She added that she respects him because everything he said has subsequently come to pass. “It is evident that this administration intends to approach the peoples of this region in a balanced and fair manner, which was our opportunity. We worked on the assumption that such an opportunity would come and that we had to seize and make use of it,” Cvijanović said, recalling Landau’s speech marking the 30th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Agreement. She noted that many of the ideas expressed there coincided with the positions of Republika Srpska and its officials. Cvijanović pointed out this marked the beginning of understanding that is necessary in politics. “To stubbornly defend mistakes means that you are incapable of understanding how relationships should be built. That is where I see the difference with this administration. I believe they know exactly how such relationships should be developed,” Cvijanović added. She emphasized that U.S. officials had clearly stated that their priority is economic cooperation, that they do not want to act as tutors, but that they expect a partnership-based relationship. Cvijanović also noted that Republika Srpska officials had publicly expressed support for Donald Trump’s policies. “We recognised what conservative values represent, what can help heal a society and improve international relations. We saw opportunities in that administration, and Serbs living in America supported that side as well,” Cvijanović recalled. She pointed out that Republika Srpska officials sought good friends, wrote letters, and worked intensively to build contacts, but stressed that there was nothing mysterious about those efforts. She stressed that she abides by discretion as an important diplomatic practice and that she prefers not to speak publicly about matters until she is certain of them. Cvijanović said that the removal of sanctions against certain Republika Srpska officials was not a secret operation and that they had been aware of the process. “No one expected it, we were not talking about it,” she said, adding that she was in Paris with the other two Presidency members when she learned of the decision, and that Emmanuel Macron personally congratulated her on the lifting of the sanctions. She also said that diplomats at the U.S. State Department had told her they could not recall a case in which as many as 50 individuals had been removed from sanctions lists in a single move.