The President of the Republic of Srpska Milorad Dodik stated today in Budapest that the potential adoption of a resolution on Srebrenica at the United Nations General Assembly would complicate the situation in BiH. He emphasized that Hungary will vote against it, for which Srpska is particularly grateful.
The President Dodik highlighted that the resolution reflects solely the will of the Bosniak side in BiH, describing it as an irresponsible act.
The President Dodik stressed that the Republic of Srpska has no outstanding issues with Hungary.
“Our relations are very good, full of understanding, and I look forward to all projects we implement together. We want our relations to prove themselves as the best possible in practical terms”, the President Dodik said at a press conference following meetings with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, Péter Szijjártó.
The President Dodik underscored that today’s meetings with the Minister Szijjártó and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán were encouraging.
The President of the Republic of Srpska mentioned that BiH acts like a cursed space, where at one moment there is a decision on negotiating status, and a few days later, Christian Schmidt imposes amendments to the Election Law of BiH, introducing additional rules.
“And now we find ourselves in a vacuum. On the other hand, the issue that casts a shadow over BiH’s European path is the resolution on Srebrenica. We informed our friends here that a country’s decision is needed for such a document to appear as a relevant document at the UN. That decision did not exist in BiH”, the President Dodik said.
The President of the Republic stated that this was done unilaterally without using mechanisms for determining foreign policy priorities.
“The Presidency of BiH, which is responsible for foreign policy, did not make a decision on this, and this is solely an irresponsible act by the Bosniak ambassador at the UN’, emphasized the President Dodik.
The President reiterated that the Serbian side does not dispute the horrendous crime that occurred in Srebrenica, but feels that the suffering of Serbs has not been adequately acknowledged.
“Moreover, they persist in telling us that there is only individual responsibility, which has been determined by court judgments. But suddenly, a resolution appears, and it is disputable to us that Germany sponsors it, with whom we have very uncomfortable historical experiences. We believe that the adoption of this resolution will significantly destabilize the situation in BiH, to the point of complete paralysis of relations”, the President Milorad Dodik said.
The President Dodik stated that the Republic of Srpska seeks the European perspective for the entire region, considering that Hungary understands the details best in the Balkans and that if there were some fairness, Hungary would be involved or even lead European processes on this issue.
“Hungary is a country that did not take sides during the conflict, a country that has a balanced, not biased stance on all issues, and that can provide a guarantee for good development of relations. That’s why we look forward to their presidency of the European Union”, the President Dodik said.
