KARAN: TIES MARKED BY MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING AND FRIENDSHIP

BANJA LUKA, SEPTEMBER 3 /SRNA/ – Republika Srpska President Siniša Karan has said today that ties between Republika Srpska and Israel are strong and based on mutual understanding and friendship.

"It is a great honor to have the opportunity, at this important moment for our relations, to pay tribute to those whose work has made an exceptional contribution to strengthening the friendly ties, understanding and cooperation between Republika Srpska and Israel," Karan said.

After the presentation of decorations to Israel's Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Amichai Chikli and Israeli Ambassador to BiH Galit Peleg, Karan said the honors were not only recognition of their personal contributions, but also an expression of deep respect for their efforts to build trust, preserve good relations and create new opportunities for cooperation.

Karan stressed that Republika Srpska and Israel had created new opportunities for cooperation and achieved concrete results.

"In this process, a special place belongs to the people who, through responsible and dedicated work over the past 15 years, have contributed to further strengthening these ties. They are President Milorad Dodik, Serb member of the BiH Presidency Željka Cvijanović and Director of the Office for International Cooperation Ana Trišić Babić. We want to build cooperation with the same commitment in the years ahead," Karan stated.

He reminded that the Holocaust was perpetrated against the Jewish people, while genocide was committed against the Serb people during the Second World War, adding that this has been documented through academic research and testimonies.

"We must remember the victims so that we understand the price of peace. We must speak the truth so that we can recognize attempts to distort it, and we must preserve the dignity of those who suffered in order to preserve the dignity of those who are alive. By presenting these decorations, we are showing our respect to those who belong to a people with whom we share a deep understanding of the history of suffering and the struggle for survival. Long live the friendship between the Serb and Jewish peoples, Republika Srpska and Israel!" Karan said.