DODIK: RUSSIA SEES US AS FRIENDS AND WELCOMES US AS COUNTRY WITH TOP POTENTIAL

SAINT PETERSBURG, JUNE 20 /SRNA/ - Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik says that Srpska values its friendship with Russia and the wide-open doors for all kinds of cooperation.

“Russia sees Srpska as a friend who is welcome and who has always stood by Russia in important moments. We are small, but I feel we are welcomed here as a country with the highest possible potential,” said Dodik. He reiterated that the ties between Srpska and Russia are at a strategic level, as confirmed during his recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and that he senses this in all his interactions with Russian officials. “All this time, we have believed in Russia and in its development. The arrogant Western world wanted to destroy Russia, break it into several countries, or take control of its natural resources. They were arrogant and didn’t expect that Russia would rise under pressure,” Dodik said. He pointed out that, according to Western statistics, Russia is now the world’s fourth-largest economy and the fifth-largest in food production. “The West has actually helped Russia by imposing sanctions, which in a way made Russia become more self-aware and turn to its own capacities,” Dodik said. He has emphasized that he is glad Srpska prevented the imposition of sanctions on Russia, effectively blocking BiH from doing so. “The Bosniaks are not friendly toward Russia. They side with the West. We have internal problems because of that. The Bosniaks are traditionally anti-Russian and believe Russia must be punished at all costs,” Dodik stated. The president of Srpska noted that Bosniaks constantly accuse Serbs of being pro-Russian. “They keep speaking against Srpska in the enraged West, while at the same time benefiting from the fact that Russia still treats BiH as a country that hasn’t imposed sanctions. We have access to Russian gas that is ten times cheaper than the one they buy from elsewhere,” Dodik said. He has added that Republika Srpska does not want to join NATO. “What kind of people would we be if we wanted to join NATO, which bombed us twice and used us for military exercises? The Serb army, especially that of Republika Srpska, was no match for the ‘grand’ NATO, yet they bombed us with depleted uranium and committed a serious crime against us,” Dodik told RT Balkan.