KOŠARAC: IT REMAINS FOR POLITICAL SARAJEVO ONLY TO COUNT SRPSKA'S DIPLOMATIC SUCCESSES

SARAJEVO, JUNE 23 /SRNA/ - Republika Srpska is pursuing a consistent foreign policy and finding its place in new geopolitical circumstances, while political Sarajevo is left to follow, comment on, and count its diplomatic successes, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers Staša Košarac told SRNA.

"That appears to be their main political task, judging by the amount of attention Sarajevo pays to it," Košarac said. He pointed out that Republika Srpska is successfully positioning itself on the international stage by developing cooperation with numerous partners and building relations based on mutual respect, thanks to the policies of President Milorad Dodik and the Serb member of the Presidency of BiH, Željka Cvijanović. On the other hand, Košarac says, political Sarajevo has for years positioned itself as a constant commentator on everything Republika Srpska does. "While Srpska is establishing contacts and strengthening its international position, the same well-known reactions are coming from Sarajevo – nervousness, fear, panic, accusations, and the usual talk of secessionism," Košarac said. According to him, Bosniak political leaders have directed almost all of their energy toward challenging Republika Srpska. "For them, the very existence of Republika Srpska is considered secessionism. At the same time, they have never abandoned Alija’s idea of a unitary Islamic BiH, although precisely such a policy represents one of the main sources of political instability in the country," Košarac warned. He said that there is a particular irony in the fact that political Sarajevo daily invokes a so-called "state-building policy," while at the same time most strongly defending the survival of a protectorate and foreign tutelage over BiH. Košarac assessed that, instead of dialogue, mutual respect, and acceptance of the constitutional reality called Republika Srpska, Sarajevo continues to choose a policy of accusations and conflict.