“I met today with the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to BiH, Igor Kalabuhov, and we discussed our bilateral relations. From our side, it was confirmed that our relationship with the Russian Federation remains stable — at the level of strategic cooperation in all areas — and that we will continue developing our ties with the same intensity in the fields of culture, economy, and beyond,” said Milorad Dodik, President of the SNSD.
Dodik added that they agreed the Dayton Peace Agreement anniversary should be duly marked and thanked both the ambassador and the Russian Federation for their engagement and the participation of numerous experts in panels dedicated to Dayton-related issues.
“We reaffirmed our joint position that the Dayton Agreement remains the framework for any solution,” Dodik stated.
“From our side, we emphasized that the current situation represents a violation of Dayton, that it is unsustainable, and that a return to its original principles is necessary if BiH is to remain viable. The Russian side reaffirmed its principled commitment to Dayton values, the territorial integrity of BiH, and to peace and stability,” he said.
Dodik noted that both sides share the same concern for maintaining peace and stability:
“Everything we do is aimed at preserving peace. I informed the ambassador that the hysteria previously seen among Bosniaks — their rhetoric of calling for war — was motivated by an attempt to provoke us, which we successfully avoided, neutralizing that narrative entirely.”
He added that this was also an opportunity to reiterate to the Russian ambassador that Republika Srpska neither considers, nor wants, nor intends to move toward NATO membership, calling recent public statements to the contrary politically irresponsible.
“Our policy remains the same. We respect NATO’s position that any accession requires a decision by BiH’s institutions — and we will not participate in such a decision, which means it cannot happen. Republika Srpska will not change its fundamental positions, either regarding NATO or our strategic cooperation with the Russian Federation,” Dodik concluded.
Source: RTRS
