The President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, stated that he is not intimidated by the U.S. warning that they will react if anyone attempts to violate the Dayton Agreement. He further mentioned that he intends to turn the administrative boundary between the Serb Republic and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina into a national border.
“I am not irrational, and I know the U.S. response would be the use of force, but I have no reason to fear that and sacrifice Serb national interests,” Dodik said in an interview with AP.
He emphasized that any attempt to use international intervention to further strengthen Bosnia’s shared multiethnic institutions will result in Serbs deciding to completely leave them.
“Since that won’t be acceptable for Western democracies, in the next phase, due to their reaction, we will be forced to declare the complete independence of Republika Srpska,” Dodik stated.
The President of Republika Srpska highlighted that among Serb, one thing is clear and final: the growing realization that the coming years and decades will be a period of national unification for Serb.
“Brussels uses the promise of EU accession as a tool for unifying BiH. Fundamentally, our policy still aims for EU accession, but we no longer see that as our sole alternative,” Dodik added.
He underscored that the EU has “proved” it is capable of acting against its own interests by siding with Washington against Moscow regarding events in Ukraine.
“Whether the U.S. and the UK like it or not, we will turn the administrative boundary between the two entities into our national border,” Dodik concluded.
It’s worth noting that the Assistant U.S. Secretary of State, James O’Brian, stated on Friday that the U.S. remains firm that there will be no secession in BiH and that America will react in the event “anyone tries to violate the Dayton Agreement.”
Source: RTRS
