IGOR DODIK ON SELF'S STATEMENT: WE HAVE WITHSTOOD ATTACKS, BETTER TIMES ARE YET TO COME FOR SRPSKA

BANJA LUKA, SEPTEMBER 16 /SRNA/ - SNSD Organisational Secretary Igor Dodik said today that the greatest success of Republika Srpska is that its positions are being taken into account.

"Our greatest success is precisely that there is no longer anyone who does not take the positions of Republika Srpska into account," Dodik wrote on X, commenting on a statement by US Congressman Keith Self that the breakup of BiH cannot be ruled out as a possibility, particularly given the position of Republika Srpska. Dodik shared on X a video of Congressman Self's closing statement from yesterday's hearing before the US House of Representatives. In his assessment, the key messages from the hearing concern the end of international interventionism and the assumption of responsibility by domestic leaders. "The most important thing we could hear yesterday is that the era of international interventionism in BiH is over, that local leaders must assume responsibility, that there are no more sanctions against Srpska, and that even the breakup of BiH is not impossible," Dodik said, particularly highlighting Self's statement about taking the positions of Republika Srpska into account. He concluded the post with a message that better times are coming for Srpska. "We have withstood the attacks and fought for better times, which are only now coming for Srpska!" Dodik said. During yesterday's hearing of US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia Daniel J. Lawton, Keith Self, Chairman of the US Congressional Subcommittee on Europe, raised questions about the future of the Office of the High Representative /OHR/ and international oversight of BiH. Self criticised Christian Schmidt's use of the Bonn Powers, saying that international administration does not eliminate local instability and that in some cases it has contributed to destabilisation in BiH. He also said that the next High Representative should have the closure of the OHR as his main objective when the appropriate time comes. Lawton said that international supervision of a sovereign country 30 years after a conflict is not a situation the United States wants to see, but noted that the criteria for closing the OHR have not been met. At the end of the discussion, Self said that the breakup of BiH cannot be ruled out as a possibility, particularly because of the position of Republika Srpska, which Dodik highlighted in his reaction today.