DODIK: THE WEST DETERMINING OUR STATUS CANNOT BE ACCEPTED

BANJA LUKA, APRIL 21 /SRNA/ – SNSD Leader Milorad Dodik says that Republika Srpska cannot accept the West once again determining what its status will be, adding that Srpska would have been lost if it had followed the roadmap set by the West 20 years ago in the form of “EU accession reforms.”

“After the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, there has been a significant presence of Germans here. In the past, Hitler came here with tanks, while modern German policy now comes with Christian Schmidt,” Dodik said at a forum on geopolitical developments in Europe held in Banja Luka. He recalled that four high representatives came from Austria and Germany. “This shows that in the Western perception of this region there is a belief that we belong to someone, while in essence we belong to no one,” he said. On the other hand, Dodik says, the Russian Federation has always given us the opportunity to talk and to be factors in international affairs. “The small Republika Srpska has a strategic partnership with the Russian Federation,” Dodik said. Illusions about what the West wants here, Dodik stresses, are being dispelled by the fact that today all news is about the militarization of Germany. “Our experience tells us that when Germany is militarized, the peoples around us prepare for war and sharpen their knives and blades. The military alliance of Croatia – Albania – the so-called Kosovo is only an extended hand of that, so what are we supposed to expect?” Dodik said. He emphasized that Srpska is not a community that generates crises nor is it militarized. “But when we hear that Germany is militarizing, then we have certain concerns and we should not be naive,” Dodik pointed out. He emphasized that the military industry in Republika Srpska had been deliberately dismantled, noting there are 11 weapons factories in the FBiH, while Republika Srpska has none, except for overhaul institutes. “Do you think that is a coincidence?” Dodik asked. The forum also featured Republika Srpska President Siniša Karan, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko, National Assembly Speaker Nenad Stevandić, and Prime Minister Savo Minić. Also present were the Russian Ambassador to BiH Igor Kalabukhov, ministers in the Srpska Government, members of the Republika Srpska National Assembly, members of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, business representatives, and other public and political figures from Srpska.