DODIK: THERE ARE NO OUTSTANDING ISSUES BETWEEN SERBIA AND SRPSKA, RELATIONS ARE EXCELLENT

BELGRADE, NOVEMBER 12 /SRNA/ – The leader of the SNSD Milorad Dodik, stated this evening that the relations between Republika Srpska and Serbia are excellent, emphasizing that there are no outstanding issues between the two.

Dodik said that the stories about allegedly strained relations between Srpska and Serbia are merely rumors, and that there is no single issue causing any problems. Speaking at the panel "EU and the Western Balkans" during the Euronews Adria Summit, Dodik said he would not withdraw from politics, because doing so would mean that Christian Schmidt and the Muslims had won. He stressed that he is both the former and future president of Republika Srpska, adding that the most important thing is that he will be, as he put it, the president of all presidents. Dodik stated that he feels more energetic than ever, and expressed confidence that SNSD candidate Siniša Karan will win the upcoming extraordinary presidential elections in Republika Srpska, while SNSD will triumph in the general elections next year. "We work as a team, and I am the personification of that team," Dodik said. He reiterated that the US decision to lift sanctions against him is proof that those sanctions were based on lies and politically motivated. Dodik reminded that he had supported Donald Trump even before his first presidential election in the US, and maintained friendship with Trump’s associates while they were in opposition, noting that they too went through difficult times and shared a similar fate to his own in BiH. He added that officials in Sarajevo are now seeking new bans against him, claiming they even take issue when he quotes Njegoš, when he says that they lie and that Sarajevo is the place of the greatest lies. "I am from Krajina, I am a Serb, and I keep my word. For them, that means nothing. Alija Izetbegović once said that he thinks one thing in the morning and another in the afternoon. Isn't that a kind of lie? So why are they offended when I say that?" Dodik remarked. The leader of SNS Miloš Vučević, who participated in the same panel with Dodik, said it was unnecessary to deny the claims of an alleged conflict with Dodik, since the governments of Srpska and Serbia's actions and lifestyles themself deny the rumors.