GOGANOVIĆ: "TROIKA" BLOCKING EU PROSPECTS BY TRYING TO EXCLUDE SERB REPRESENTATIVES

ISTOČNO SARAJEVO, DECEMBER 8 /SRNA/ – Deputy Minister of Defense in the Council of Ministers Aleksandar Goganović has stated for SRNA that the narrative promoted by the "Troika" coalition about alleged EU blackmail by SNSD leader Milorad Dodik is false and politically manipulative, emphasizing that the European path cannot be built without the legitimate representatives of the Serb people in the joint institutions.

"The `Troika` is once again trying to mislead the public by claiming that `Dodik is blackmailing the EU,` while at the same time claiming they want the European path but without the SNSD president. Let me remind them of basic political facts: Milorad Dodik is the president of SNSD, and most legitimate representatives of the Serb people in the joint institutions come precisely from SNSD. If you want the EU without Dodik, then you want the EU without the political representatives of the Serb people in the joint institutions. That means only one thing – you are blocking the European path with your own demands, and then shifting the blame onto Republika Srpska. That narrative is not flying even among EU officials," Goganović stressed. He reminded that the Dayton Agreement is clear – decisions in BiH are made with the consent of both entities and all three constituent peoples. He emphasized that in Republika Srpska the mandate belongs to SNSD and its coalition partners, and that they represent the Serb people in the joint institutions. "That is democratic legitimacy, not the personal wishes of political parties that did not receive support in Republika Srpska," Goganović said. He said that representatives of Republika Srpska will not accept blackmail, adding that BiH's European path is possible only through agreement, not through the exclusion of one of the three constituent peoples.