DODIK: WE WILL INSISIT ON TIME-LIMITED MANDATE OF HIGH REPRESENTATIVE

MOSCOW, MAY 27 /SRNA/ - SNSD leader Milorad Dodik said that Republika Srpska insists that the mandate of the High Representative be limited to two years at the most and that he informed Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko about this during today's meeting.

During talks with Grushko in Moscow, also attended by Republika Srpska Interior Minister Željko Budimir, Dodik said the Russian side was well informed about the circumstances in which the Serb people live in BiH and everything that had been done against them.

"We stated here that we oppose any kind of relocation. If they relocate it somewhere else, as some are advocating, this institution will remain there for another hundred years, which means our freedom will never be achieved because we will always have such bureaucrats against us", Dodik told media outlets from Republika Srpska.

He stressed that Republika Srpska would accept any agreement supported by all members of the UN Security Council.

"That includes the Russian approach and our traditional Chinese friends, who have behaved absolutely properly regarding this issue, but also the Americans, who have now shown new interest in finding a quality solution. Together with the Russians and others, they should certainly have the decisive say in this matter", Dodik said.

He emphasized that they had asked their friends in Moscow for a new person to be appointed, with a limited term of one year, or at most two, after which the position of High Representative should cease to exist.

Dodik said he welcomed the US position that all interested parties would be consulted.

He noted that Annex 10 of the Dayton Agreement states that the High Representative is selected by the signatory parties to that annex, including Republika Srpska, Serbia, the Federation of BiH, Croatia and the joint level of BiH.

"These are the five parties that make the selection. The appointment must also be confirmed by a relevant UN Security Council resolution", Dodik said.

Dodik stressed that the Russian side was very familiar with the details, despite not being a member of the Peace Implementation Council, and added that during the meeting he said it would be interesting to see how the EU would react if the Russian Federation were to return to the Peace Implementation Council.

"I believe these Europeans will immediately raise objections and create certain obstacles in that regard", Dodik stated.

He added that, in any case, any newly appointed High Representative would have to clear up the mess created by Christian Schmidt.

"He would have to revoke Schmidt's decisions and review many decisions by previous High Representatives that were contrary to the constitution, because only in that way could we understand the genuine commitment that we are already hearing declaratively from the Americans and other major powers - that perhaps the salvation of BiH lies in returning to the original Dayton Agreement", Dodik said.

Although Dodik stressed he favored the original Dayton framework, Dodik added that he did not believe such a return was realistically possible and that an alternative should therefore also be considered.

"We will talk about that alternative later. We did not discuss it in detail. What is clear both to us and to the Russians is that the West is unwilling to uphold agreements it signs", Dodik said.

He added that the Brussels administration, the administration of former US President Joseph Biden and many others in the West had undermined the Dayton Agreement and had also failed to uphold either the Kumanovo Agreement or the Minsk agreements.

"So why should we hope that a return to the original Dayton Agreement is possible? That is an illusion they may be using to buy time if we hear someone saying that. But I must say clearly and precisely that we could envision our future organized within BiH under the original Dayton framework", Dodik said.

He added that this would mean returning to Republika Srpska all competencies envisaged under the Dayton Agreement.

"The Muslims will not allow that. We insist on it. And perhaps the best option is to create an atmosphere of peaceful separation in order to preserve the stability of the area", Dodik said, adding that he discussed all of these issues with Grushko today.

Dodik reminded that Grushko had recently visited Banja Luka and had also been informed then about Republika Srpska’s positions.