DODIK: MEETING WITH NETANYAHU ONE OF BEST IN RECENT DECADES

JERUSALEM, JANUARY 28 /SRNA/ – SNSD leader Milorad Dodik said that his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was one of the best meetings he has participated in over the past decades and that it provided an opportunity to discuss possible forms of cooperation.

Dodik said the meeting was marked by full understanding and appreciation of the position of Republika Srpska, the position of Israel and the Jewish people, as well as Israel's understanding of the very complex position of Republika Srpska. He emphasized that in recent times the position of Republika Srpska has been severely endangered through the dismantling of the Dayton Peace Agreement. Dodik noted that the meeting was an opportunity to discuss possible forms of cooperation, stressing that the Serbian side insisted on receiving support to restore the situation in BiH to the letter of the Dayton Agreement, including the return of the army, finances, courts, intelligence services and all competencies that Republika Srpska had under the Dayton Peace Agreement. "The Serb people should no longer endure what is happening in the courts. With my own case I tried to draw attention to this, but our people must understand that they have no intention of stopping. We have a man who was sentenced to three years in prison for raising three fingers. That means we have nothing more to seek there," Dodik told reporters. He added that he was impressed by the Israeli prime minister's knowledge of the situation and said that Netanyahu conveyed a very clear message. "Netanyahu told us that we are great and lasting friends. We find ourselves in an almost identical situation, those who are our enemies are also enemies of Israel," Dodik explained. Dodik recalled that Republika Srpska has been stripped of everything it gained under the Dayton Agreement. "We have no understanding for that liberal Europe which is trying to push through to the end a concept that is against us," Dodik stressed. Upon his return to Republika Srpska, Dodik announced talks with relevant factors to determine the future course of action for Republika Srpska. "We must halt European integration until we resolve our status," Dodik said. On these platforms, he added, Republika Srpska is seeking friends, which it will soon do in Budapest and in the United States. "We believe there are positive developments, as the new U.S. administration primarily wants peace, but is also opposed to endangering the freedoms of peoples. We cannot agree to be lost in false European processes in BiH," Dodik said. He expressed satisfaction that while in Israel he was also able to discuss the establishment of an air route from Banja Luka to Tel Aviv and economic cooperation, noting that an increasing number of Israeli companies are exploring investment opportunities in Republika Srpska, and that one company will open a production facility in Gradiška. Dodik also said that the Republika Srpska delegation held talks with Israel’s finance minister on sending a team of experts to work with experts from the Ministry of Finance of Republika Srpska to jointly assess available opportunities during a panel discussion. "Republika Srpska has an opportunity, and I want to see it develop," Dodik concluded. Earlier in the day, Acting President of Republika Srpska Ana Trišić-Babić and SNSD leader Milorad Dodik visited the grave of Ari Livne in Jerusalem. It is recalled that Dodik and Trišić Babić also met today in Israel with Knesset member Ze'ev Elkin of the New Hope party. The Republika Srpska delegation is also scheduled to meet with Minister for Diaspora Affairs and the Fight against Antisemitism Amichai Chikli and Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Eli Cohen. The Republika Srpska delegation also includes Serb delegate to the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH Radovan Kovačević.