DODIK: IT IS IMPORTANT NOT TO MISS TIMING FOR OUR DECISIONS

BANJA LUKA, FEBRUARY 1 /SRNA/ – SNSD leader Milorad Dodik says that his main goal remains an independent Republika Srpska, and that he wants to achieve it through a peaceful political process by using the international timing that is currently emerging.

"I do not want us to miss that timing for our final decisions," Dodik said.

He stated that he withdrew from office because he understood that radical elements in Europe and elsewhere, especially Muslims in Sarajevo, were ready to even resort to weapons.

"They wanted things here to escalate in that way. I took a step back; I wanted to eliminate any threat and conflict, thus I withdrew to a position from which I can always act and operate," Dodik said.

He emphasized that he wants to free Republika Srpska from pressure, that he has energy, and that he is not a man who gives up.

"We know what the goals of Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina are; they are doing everything to dismantle the Dayton-based BiH and bring it as close as possible to a unitary state. Behind that concept stood the West, through a fake story about the EU, the centralization of many functions, and the use of the authority of the High Representatives," Dodik told RTRS.

He pointed out that he is responsible for responding to this, not the dormant opposition in Republika Srpska, who believe that everything can be resolved solely through their submissiveness.