DODIK: SRPSKA MUST NOT ALLOW ITSELF TO BE CAUGHT OFF GUARD

TEL AVIV, SEPTEMBER 17 /SRNA/ - President Milorad Dodik said that he had learned in Israel that there is nothing that should not be done for the security of a people and a state, stressing that Republika Srpska must not allow itself to be caught off guard.

"We do not believe in this shared narrative about BiH and its security. Some unclear arrangements are being made by Muslims with Islamic countries, such as Turkey, regarding some form of military cooperation and much else, which raises suspicions," Dodik told reporters in Tel Aviv. He stressed that the Republika Srpska leadership, which is responsible for the fate of the state and its people, must do everything possible to identify, above all, the threats and respond to them. "That is why it is important to be here and talk with Israeli officials. We discussed these needs and the need to cooperate on all these issues," Dodik added. Reflecting on the suffering of the Serb and Jewish peoples throughout history, Dodik said that the two peoples had always suffered from the same things. "And today, when we hear the EU's rhetoric condemning Israel, it resembles what we heard in the middle of the last century, when they blamed only one side. So, this is an intolerable philosophy in which someone can carry out a terrorist attack, kill 1,400 people, and now Israel is supposed to choose some mild way to respond, right? Of course, that is something that does not add up," Dodik said. Dodik pointed out that there are sleeper terrorists and mujahideen in BiH, and that there are more than 180 Islamic State fighters. "We cannot be naive and believe that they are simply living their lives somewhere and have abandoned their ideologies. They are known for never renouncing their extremist ideology. Republika Srpska must not allow itself to be caught off guard one day," Dodik concluded.