SRPSKA'S LEADERSHIP SHOULD BE COMMENDED FOR SKILLFUL FOREIGN POLICY

BELGRADE, MAY 10 /SRNA/ - The leadership of Republika Srpska should be commended for conducting foreign policy with exceptional skill and for navigating geopolitical turmoil effectively, said Nikola Vukelić, the State Secretary in the Serbian Ministry of Labor, Employment, Veteran, and Social Policy.

Vukelić told SRNA that Milorad Dodik had carried out a genuine diplomatic offensive and, through his visits to the United States and Russia within a very short period of time, confirmed not only that he remains the dominant political figure in Republika Srpska, but also at the level of BiH as a whole. He also stressed that Dodik had mounted a true diplomatic offensive within Republika Srpska itself and managed to reverse what had been an extremely difficult situation in which he had been politically targeted. He pointed to the significance of yesterday’s meeting between the Republika Srpska delegation and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the occasion of Victory Day, assessing that this will strengthen Republika Srpska’s position. He said that Republika Srpska had been intended to assume the fate of the Republic of the Serbian Krajina, to be almost completely stripped of its powers and left as an empty shell. Although it is not an internationally recognized state, Vukelić stressed that Republika Srpska is nevertheless a factor in international relations, as demonstrated by Milorad Dodik’s visits to the United States and Russia. "He is clearly balancing skillfully and will secure the best possible outcome for Republika Srpska. The situation is now much easier, and the pressure coming from the West has, if not been stopped, then at least been significantly restrained,” Vukelić said. He added that Dodik’s visits to the United States and Russia within a short period of time confirmed that the rulings issued against him by the Court of BiH were irrelevant in a way and, at the very least, relativized. “That is a good message that these unlawful and disgraceful decisions, which represent a distortion of law and justice, will not endure in the long term,” Vukelić said. He also reminded how developments shifted in favor of Republika Srpska with the arrival of the new U.S. administration, while at the same time maintaining exceptionally good relations with the Russian Federation and President Vladimir Putin. Vukelić believes that Serbia’s leadership is also conducting foreign policy with considerable skill and navigating geopolitical tensions effectively, noting that Serbia has not imposed sanctions on Russia while still preserving investments coming from the West.