KOVAČEVIĆ: BORDER CROSSING WOULD BE OPEN IF OPPOSITION HAD NOT PLACED ITS OWN INTERESTS ABOVE SRPSKA

BANJA LUKA, DECEMBER 11 /SRNA/ – Serb delegate in the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly Radovan Kovačević said that the border crossing at the new bridge in Gradiška could already be open had the opposition from Republika Srpska not placed its own interests above those of Srpska.

Kovačević reminded that in 2021, Milorad Dodik, then the Serb member of the BiH Presidency, used a veto to protect the vital interest of Republika Srpska during the Presidency session at which the International Agreement with Croatia concerning border crossings was being decided. "The Svilaj border crossing was the issue at the time, and Dodik did not use the veto to block the opening of the crossing, Republika Srpska has never engaged in such actions, but rather said that the agreement should not be signed unless the new Gradiška border crossing was included in it," Kovačević said. He noted that Dodik told the National Assembly of Republika Srpska that if the Gradiška crossing were not included in the agreement, Srpska would inevitably face blackmail—both from Croatia and from representatives of the Federation of BiH /FBiH/. "Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened. The opposition walked out of the session, refused to support the veto of the Serb member of the Presidency, and allowed Šefik Džaferović and Željko Komšić to overrule Dodik and adopt the agreement without the new Gradiška border crossing," Kovačević reminded. He stressed that because of such actions by the opposition, Republika Srpska today depends on a single individual from FBiH who is blocking numerous matters unrelated to the opening of the border crossing. Speaking for RTRS, Kovačević said that the opening of the new border crossing would ease congestion at the existing crossing, eliminate traffic jams in Gradiška, and remove the crossing from the city center. "We would have one of the most modern and attractive border crossings, directly connecting Banja Luka to the European Union by highway. But unfortunately, people in the opposition considered their conflict with Dodik more important than the interests of the people of Srpska and the opening of key projects that we worked hard to complete," Kovačević concluded.