DODIK: REPUBLIKA SRPSKA WAS FORMED TO BE PERMANENT

BRČKO, JANUARY 10 /SRNA/ – SNSD Leader Milorad Dodik says Republika Srpska was formed to be permanent which, despite Zukan Helez's anger, will remain permanently on its territory, with its people, history, and future.

"I have nothing against talking about abolition, I just don't know what we will end up abolishing," Dodik told the press in Brčko, commenting on Helez's statement that "the time has come to begin a serious discussion on abolishing the entities in BiH". Dodik stresses that Republika Srpska is far more stable and enduring, it is not an aberration, and that it has withstood far greater "forces" than the disgraceful Helez, who will remain in office for only a few more months. He emphasized that the Serb people in Republika Srpska believe that peace and stability must be preserved above all, and that priority should be given to political agreement. "Bosniaks do not want a political agreement and have calculated that internationals' assistance enables them to more easily achieve their goals of unitarization," Dodik said. He noted that the past several months, as well as the entire previous year, indicate that with the arrival of Donald Trump and a new administration in power in the United States, such pressure has ceased, which will evidently put all sides in a position to engage in talks. "I am not sure that abolishing the entities will be the priority. Perhaps something else, but we will see in due course," Dodik concluded.