Bilateral relations with Turkey are becoming strategically important for Republika Srpska, not only because official Ankara supports internal agreements and rejects foreign interference in BiH but also because, as one of the leading NATO members, it can “soften” the blows and pressures of the West on Srpska and its leadership. This is how analysts assess the outcomes of the visit of Milorad Dodik, President of Republika Srpska, and Željka Cvijanović, the Serb member of the BiH Presidency, to this country and their participation in the Diplomatic Forum in Antalya.
Although formally part of BiH, Republika Srpska is becoming increasingly visible on numerous international fronts, both in the East and the West. This is supported by the latest meetings of the President of Srpska in Antalya with Turkish, Hungarian, and Slovak officials, and previously with Russian and Belarusian ones.
Meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan are especially significant because, contrary to Sarajevo’s desires, he sends a message against foreign interference in the internal affairs of BiH.
Srđan Perišić, a professor of geopolitics, states that Turkey understands the relations in BiH and the position of Republika Srpska.
“Erdoğan, in all his statements during the visits of the President of Srpska, clearly emphasizes the respect for the Dayton Agreement and that the future lies in the agreement of all three peoples and respecting the position of Republika Srpska,” highlights Perišić.
Aleksandar Mitić, a research fellow at the Institute for International Politics and Economy in Belgrade, says that Turkey acknowledges that without conversations and agreements with representatives of Republika Srpska, there’s no progress in BiH.
“Turkey wants to cooperate with Republika Srpska on specific economic issues, without political conditions,” Mitić points out.
Sinisa Pepic, an expert in international relations, says that contrary to historical experience and the established narrative that Turks support Bosniaks in everything, we are in a situation where Serbs and Republika Srpska maintain good relations with Ankara, all due to the fact that Bosniak parties are more inclined towards Erdoğan’s opponent Fethullah Gülen and under the direct influence of the Quint countries whose ambassadors behave like colonial administrators in BiH.
“And that is contrary to what Erdoğan, Dodik, Orbán, and many forces even in Western Europe, primarily sovereigntists, see as a problem not only in BiH but also in the EU, where the US has a strong influence. So, it’s quite natural, as strange as it may sound, that Republika Srpska, President Dodik is the only interlocutor Turkey can trust,” says Pepić.
This trust is being capitalized through the announcement of significant structural projects in Republika Srpska and the Federation of BiH that Turkey would finance, and potential support that this country, as one of the leading NATO members, can provide to Srpska and protect it from practically daily pressures from the West.
“Turkey can play a role as a barrier in relation to the pressures that other NATO members, especially the USA, exert on Republika Srpska and can play a role similar to that of Hungary, i.e., Prime Minister Orbán when it comes to the EU,” Mitić states.
Turkey has long surpassed the status of a regional military and economic power. As such, it can be a corrective factor to the malevolent policy of the collective West towards Srpska and Serbia. Being targeted itself due to its rapprochement with Moscow, it’s not surprising that the Turkish president opposes foreign interventionism and pressures on Republika Srpska, say analysts.
Source: RTRS