GAŠIĆ TO HELEZ: THE DRINA IS NOT, AND NEVER WILL BE, BORDER BETWEEN SERB PEOPLE

BELGRADE, August 4 /SRNA/ – Serbia’s Defence Minister Bratislav Gašić told BiH Defence Minister Zukan Helez that the Drina River is not, and never will be, a border between the Serb people, but rather a symbol of Serbs’ history, identity, and unity.

Gašić, who is currently in Republika Srpska, said Helez's latest remarks were another attempt to conceal his own political weakness and lack of results by attacking Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić, Republika Srpska, and the Serb people. "Zukan Helez has once again shown that his only political platform is attacking Serbia, Republika Srpska, and President Aleksandar Vučić. While the President of Serbia came to Republika Srpska to pay tribute to the innocent victims of the criminal Operation Storm and send a message of peace, Helez is trying to turn that act into a political circus and create an incident where none existed," Gašić said. He told TV Pink that Helez should understand that the president of the Republic of Serbia was not visiting someone else's home, but his grandfather’s land, among his own people, carrying messages of peace, cooperation, and stability. Unlike Helez, Gašić added, Aleksandar Vučić has never built his political career on spreading hatred toward any nation. "Instead of using every opportunity to attack Serbia and Republika Srpska, Helez should focus on his own ministry and the numerous problems within the institutions of which he is a part. Regardless of his provocations, Serbia will continue to pursue a policy of peace, respect for the Dayton Peace Agreement, and the maintenance of special parallel ties with Republika Srpska," Gašić said. Earlier today, Defence Minister within the Council of Ministers Zukan Helez said that the police of the Central Bosnia Canton had responded to alleged security protocol violations during Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić's visit to Bugojno yesterday, adding that "Vučić has learned that the Drina is, after all, a border".