Political scientist Voislav Savić stated that the U.S. State Department did not support the verdict against Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik, as federal media are trying to portray, but merely acknowledged the information and reaffirmed its support for the Dayton Agreement.
- “We need to pay close attention to the choice of words used by the State Department. Sarajevo immediately tried to turn this into something bigger, as if it were an endorsement of the verdict or support for the judicial system, which is simply not true. They stated that they took note of the information without passing any value judgment,” Savić emphasized.
He reminded that the wording of previous statements from the State Department was entirely different, much more aggressive, and far more explicit in their support for certain individuals and leaders, as well as in their condemnation of others.
- “This time, they did not mention Milorad Dodik or any other individual. Instead, they issued a very neutral statement, calling on all leaders to de-escalate tensions and expressing support for the Dayton Peace Agreement—which is completely reasonable. Republika Srpska has been advocating for precisely that throughout this process,” Savić noted.
He believes that Sarajevo is using this for its internal political messaging.
- “However, I don’t think they should place too much hope in just two tweets because this is merely a technical bureaucratic statement. When this administration wants to support or condemn someone, they do so very explicitly and have no need to obscure their words. What they wrote clearly indicates that they have simply acknowledged the information and, at least for now, that is where it ends,” Savić concluded.
Federal media had previously reported that the State Department had supported the verdict against the President of Republika Srpska.
Source: RTRS
