Press Conference of the President of the Republic of Srpska

The President of the Republic of Srpska Milorad Dodik held a press conference in Banja Luka today on the occasion of his successful visit to the Russian Federation and the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The President Dodik said that his meetings were very successful and that Srpska showed its importance through those meetings.

The President of the Republic emphasized that these meetings were an opportunity for the Republic of Srpska to review the important details of the policies being showed in the Russian Federation and the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The President of Srpska pointed out that the most important was the meeting with the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, with whom he has met twenty times so far, and added that the difference between the last meeting and the previous ones was the situation in Ukraine and the polarization between Russia and the West.

“My role as the President of the Republic of Srpska is not to close the door to anyone. Russia has proven to be an important partner for the Republic of Srpska all along. Russia is a guarantor of the Dayton Agreement. As a member of the Security Council, it always heard our voice. Russia spoke clearly within the Peace Implementation Council about abuses committed by high representatives on a continuous basis”, said the President of the Republic.

The President Dodik pointed out that during the meetings in Moscow, he was acknowledged that the Republic of Srpska is a strategic partner of the Russian Federation and added that Srpska will not abandon Russia, which continuously helps it.

The President of Srpska said that he discussed numerous issues with the Russian President.

“The conversation lasted more than an hour. It was a dialogue on different issues. We discussed our bilateral relations, the exchange of political views”, said the President of the Republic.

On this occasion, the President Dodik said that he once again introduced the President Putin to the decadent behavior of the collective West, which promotes a man who was not formally elected as a high representative.

“There is a decision of the BiḪ Constitutional Court in which it says that he cannot be a high representative if he is not confirmed by the UN Security Council. Then we hear how Westerners here tell us how to implement the decisions of the Constitutional Court, but they themselves do not implement them”, said the President of Srpska.

The President of the Republic also highlighted that he had consulted with the President Putin about how Russia will deal with the possibility of an unelected high representative imposing certain solutions on the Republic of Srpska, such as the property issue.

“I said that it is a wall for us and that we only have two paths from there. One is to disappear and cease to exist, and the other is, of course, to preserve our autonomy, that is, to preserve our independence”, said the President Dodik.

The President of Srpska pointed out that in the event that an unelected high representative imposes certain solutions on the Republic of Srpska, it would be a violation of the Dayton Agreement, firstly because he is an unauthorized person, and even if he was elected, he would not have the right to make such a solution.

The President of the Republic added that the response he received was encouraging for him and refers to the fact that the President of the Russian Federation understands the situation and that the Republic of Srpska will certainly not be left alone.

The President Dodik said that the appearance of an unauthorized and unelected foreigner on the UN Security Council is the reason for the Republic of Srpska’s complete disagreement with the American and British embassies, which are hostile towards the Republic of Srpska.

The President of the Republic of Srpska stated that various embassies’ officials were continuously hostile towards the Republic of Srpska, hiding behind the platitude that they were helping the people.

The President of the Republic added that he also discussed the situation in Russia with the Russian President and that he learned that the Russian situation is stable despite the fact that the West confiscated 350 billion euros from Russia.

“Its financial flows are such that it has accumulated more than 600 billion dollars from the operations they have established related to the new circumstances”, said the President Dodik and added that Russia is smoothly implementing economic and other arrangements.

The President of the Republic of Srpska stated that Russia expects a crop of 158 million tons of grain and that it is an important supplier in that area.

“Inflation has fallen to three and a half percent there. Unemployment in Russia is three percent. Russia is a country that does not need international loans”, said the President of Srpska and added that the internal political and economic situation in Russia is stable.

When it comes to the Ukrainian conflict, the President Dodik said that he noticed that the President Putin also wants to end these operations as soon as possible.

“Russia feels threatened and could not allow itself to endanger the strategic position of the Russian Federation from the point of view of efforts to include Ukraine in the NATO”, it was emphasized by the President of the Republic.

The President of Srpska recalled that during his visit to Russia, he also met with the Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev and participated in the Conference on International Security in Russia.

The press conference was also attended by the Minister of Scientific and Technological Development, Higher Education and Information Society of the Republic of Srpska Željko Budimir.