DODIK: SRPSKA WILL NOT GIVE UP WHAT IS GUARANTEED TO IT BY DAYTON

MOSCOW, JULY 4 /SRNA/ – The President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik stated that Srpska is not seeking anything that does not belong to it, but it will also not give up what is guaranteed to it by the Constitution of BiH and the Dayton Peace Accords.

In an interview with Russia's TASS, Dodik emphasized that BiH can function only through sincere dialogue between the legally elected representatives of all three peoples, without foreign interference and arbitrary impositions. "Republika Srpska wants to live as agreed in Dayton, and if that is not possible, then coexistence side by side is the only real alternative. Republika Srpska is peaceful, but firm," Dodik stressed. He stated that Republika Srpska, despite all pressures, remains committed to peace, dialogue, and respect for international law and obligations. "However, we will also firmly defend the constitutional rights, competencies, and dignity of Republika Srpska and the Serb people," Dodik declared. He said that the institutions of Republika Srpska have been consistent in protecting and implementing the Dayton Agreement from the moment it was signed, and on that basis, for 30 years, Republika Srpska has been pursuing a principled policy of peace, stability, and cooperation. "Unfortunately, over the last three decades, we have witnessed persistent, systematic, and insidious attempts to dismantle the Dayton structure of BiH. The Bosniak political elite, with the support of part of the international community, is continuously working to create a unitary state, denying the constitutional position of Republika Srpska," Dodik emphasized. He noted that Republika Srpska was founded in 1992 as an expression of the historical, democratic, and political will of the Serb people, and that the Dayton Peace Accords reached in 1995 was a compromise that not only ended the war but also established the constitutional and legal structure of BiH as a state union. "It is clear that BiH is neither unitary nor monoethnic, but a complex state union, composed of two entities and three constituent peoples. Therefore, Republika Srpska is not an administrative unit within BiH – it is a constitutional category," Dodik said. Commenting on the French-German non-paper, Dodik stated that it is a political pamphlet that does not reflect the reality of BiH, but is an attempt to create a new platform to strip Republika Srpska of its powers, which Srpska will not accept. Dodik stressed that Republika Srpska firmly rejects any initiative aimed at unitarizing BiH, imposing solutions without the will of its constituent peoples, and undermining the Dayton balance. "It is concerning that Western countries, which present themselves as guarantors of peace and stability, participate in drafting such a paper, ignoring BiH's constitutional order and proposing solutions that directly violate the Dayton Agreement. Republika Srpska will not accept any document that is not created through dialogue among legitimate domestic actors and that seeks to override the will of the Serb people as expressed in elections," Dodik emphasized. He stated that the Dayton Peace Accords is an international treaty that can only be amended with the consent of all signatories – not through informal papers and embassy pressures. "Republika Srpska remains committed to peace, dialogue, and cooperation with everyone, but at the same time, it clearly states: our political will is not subject to negotiation or colonial governance," Dodik underlined. Dodik concluded that the non-paper is just one of many maneuvers by leading EU countries, showing that even after 30 years since Dayton, they have learned nothing about BiH. "It once again confirms the practice of foreign powers interfering in BiH's internal affairs, without respecting the country's constitutional structure and without consulting the legitimately and legally elected representatives of the peoples," Dodik stated.