CVIJANOVIĆ: I BRIEFED SUSIE WILES ON DEVELOPMENTS HERE

BANJA LUKA, SEPTEMBER 25 /SRNA/ - Serb member of the BiH Presidency Željka Cvijanović said that she had the opportunity to brief Susie Wiles, US President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, on certain details concerning developments here.

“I can see that this has prompted quite a few comments. But I will say again that I am very proud that, in this regard, I had the opportunity to attend a meeting and stay there for almost twice as long as had been planned,” Cvijanović revealed.

Cvijanović said that the meeting was an excellent opportunity to discuss Republika Srpska, the situation in the region and BiH, as well as global developments.

“Wiles is an exceptional, dedicated and fascinating woman who has a great deal of knowledge, and with whom many topics can be discussed because she is well informed about the situation here,” Cvijanović told ATV.

She added that she was proud, pleased and honored to have met with Wiles at the White House, who is undoubtedly one of the US president’s closest aides.

Cvijanović said that her visit to the United States had generated a great deal of enthusiasm among people in Republika Srpska, but also considerable discontent among those who do not approve of the presence and activities of Republika Srpska officials abroad.

“However, this will not deter us from our path and goal, which is to seize every opportunity that can contribute to the interests of Republika Srpska. Therefore, our commitment is to build a better position for Republika Srpska in the world,” Cvijanović said.

She stressed that building a better position for Republika Srpska in the world was the goal of her visit to the United States, where she also attended a reception in New York hosted by US President Donald Trump for heads of state and government on the occasion of the UN General Assembly session.

She stressed that today’s relations with the United States, when it comes to Republika Srpska, are incomparably better.

“We have a much greater understanding that BiH is a decentralized country, that everyone should enjoy their autonomy and be able to develop independently, and so on. This is a completely different approach. Therefore, my visit to the United States was a great success because it addressed the essence of the developments here,” Cvijanović said.

She also described her meeting with US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz as substantive, high-quality, constructive and fundamentally beneficial to the interests of Republika Srpska.

“What Wiles and Waltz told us was that we should build mutual friendship, better understanding and help one another, especially concerning everything that is opening up in future processes,” Cvijanović said.

She stressed that at the reception in New York she also spoke with US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and other important figures shaping policies in Europe and around the world.

“We were well received, and it was worthwhile to go to the United States and take every step towards improving Republika Srpska’s position on the international stage. That has definitely happened after everything we have endured in the past,” Cvijanović said.

She stressed that all of this was very important for Srpska, given the various and numerous pressures under which we had lived over the past 30 years.

She noted that representatives of Republika Srpska are not working against political Sarajevo in this regard, but in the interests of the truth about Republika Srpska, about which so many lies and falsehoods have been spread in recent years.

Cvijanović said that the world’s most important players, such as the United States, increasingly understand that the Dayton Peace Agreement has been repeatedly undermined by foreign and other interventions, which have caused crises in BiH.

She said that some European governments, thanks to Republika Srpska’s efforts, are increasingly understanding what happened in BiH in the past.

“We have done a great deal, and there is no doubt that the US administration’s lifting of sanctions against Republika Srpska officials has contributed to many people viewing us differently, as economic and political partners. We must not let these partnerships slip away. I firmly believe that the difficult times when we had to fight for every jurisdiction of Republika Srpska are behind us,” Cvijanović stressed.

She said that a period of active participation in political and economic processes in the country and around the world is ahead, based on knowledge, intelligence, good relations, contacts and understanding.

“I will reiterate: we are not doing anything against anyone, although this often provokes a great deal of shouting, clamour and hysteria in political Sarajevo. We do not pay attention to it,” Cvijanović said.

She stressed that political Sarajevo was clearly very nervous because the activities of Republika Srpska officials had changed their long-standing approach of creating a black-and-white picture of BiH.

She added that some foreign leaders openly tell her when she speaks with them that they no longer have the patience or time to listen to the constant complaining from Sarajevo.

“They say they are constantly complaining, but they are not offering anything new. On the other hand, we are active on the ground and internationally. We do not want a unitary BiH; we are living our reality, which is Republika Srpska with its full autonomy, constitutional capacities and jurisdictions,” Cvijanović concluded.