DODIK ANNOUNCES MOSCOW VISIT, TALKS WITH PUTIN ON SRPSKA-RUSSIA STRATEGIC RELATIONS

BANJALUKA, MAY 5 /SRNA/ – SNSD leader Milorad Dodik said he will discuss the strategic relations between Republika Srpska and Russia during his upcoming visit to Moscow on the occasion of Victory Day, including a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Dodik emphasized that Republika Srpska seeks economic activity from both Russia and the United States in the entity.

"My recent stay in America confirmed a more relaxed atmosphere", Dodik said.

He noted that during his visit to the United States he received recognition from Judson University, which he said was awarded after the institution followed public reports, observed what unjust sanctions mean and recognized his struggle.

Dodik said he will present the same positions in Russia that he expressed in the United States.

He assessed that cooperation with the current US administration is significantly easier than with previous ones, which he described as having a negative and hostile approach toward Republika Srpska.

Dodik said previous US administrations, including those of Biden, Obama and Clinton, pursued a policy aimed at weakening Republika Srpska through reforms and centralization of BiH.

He stated that such efforts were unsuccessful primarily due to the policies of resistance by the Republika Srpska leadership.

"We are here because of a policy and idea that keeps this people together, and we opposed the idea of previous US administrations aimed at abolishing Republika Srpska,” Dodik stressed.

He claimed that some authorities in BiH have been centralized in Sarajevo, particularly the judiciary, which he described as the most difficult issue.

"They took that jurisdiction away from Republika Srpska and placed it at the level of Sarajevo. Now they are trying to say that court decisions must be respected. Yes, if the court is objective and operates in accordance with the law. But if the court does not act according to the law, what is the measure then?" Dodik stated.

He also said that Muslim structures are using the judiciary as an instrument of pressure against Republika Srpska.

"Through the judiciary, they want to discipline Serbs, to strike at their identity and the three--inger salute. When you greet the Mladić or Karadžić families, you are immediately subjected to criminal prosecution. This is something we saw during the Ottoman period", Dodik said.

He reminded that a year ago he did not have freedom of movement, that he was prosecuted by the judiciary at the level of BiH and that during the proceedings against him he defended the idea of Republika Srpska and offered resistance.

Dodik said that under such circumstances a new US administration arrived, which Republika Srpska trusts and which has worked to ease relations.

"We have entered a political process that is proving to be significant both for us and for many others, and that is that this administration has said - we will not interfere in state-building. BiH has been built for 30 years on taking away from Republika Srpska. That cannot survive. You can take for a while, but as soon as an opportunity arises, this people must resist and say goodbye to all such practices", Dodik said.