Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik has said he is satisfied with long-lasting cooperation between Srpska and Russia and that, at the same time, he sees that the Russians are also very interested in working with Republika Srpska.
Dodik said in his TAS interview /Russian Agency/ that Republika Srpska has traditionally had good relations with the Russian Federation in the business, political, cultural and sports fields, which is very important for Srpska.
He has stressed that Russia understands the complexity of the political situation in which Republika Srpska is and underlines the need to respect international law.
“Unfortunately, we are witnessing the fact that the West has violated international law, particularly in relation to the Dayton Accords, secondary legal acts, which only support one party in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Muslim one,” said the Srpska president, adding that the treaty has been revised without procedures provided for it.
Dodik has stressed that Russia has always adhered firmly to the fact that a letter of international treaty is to be respected instead of imposing solutions on the basis of “the spirit of the Dayton Agreement,” i.e. its interpretation, which is unacceptable for everyone in BiH.
“This is the most we can expect from such a powerful country, such as Russia, and we are grateful for that,” said Dodik.
As for economic cooperation, Dodik has stressed that Russia has a significant presence in Republika Srpska, and cited an example of the Zarubezhneft Company, which is implementing a serious project for production of motor oils and creates a distribution network for petroleum products.
He has recalled that this company has operated in Srpska very successfully since 2008, despite all the challenges and difficulties of the modern oil market.
“Due to the fall in oil prices, the project could have been jeopardized, but I am pleased to point out that the people from the company, with the help of the Russian Government, found a way to maintain production and jobs in Republika Srpska, which we consider as an effective example of the attitude towards us,” said Dodik.
He has pointed out that there are many other joint projects, and that possibility of placing products on huge Russian market is very important for Republika Srpska fruit growers.
“It is important that economic cooperation is growing every year and the connections between the people, who implement new projects, are being established,” said Dodik.
Dodik has stressed that sympathy and love of Republika Srpska towards Russia, Orthodoxy and Slavic world is doubtless and that Srpska is still relying on Russia in everything it does.
Commenting on Russia’s commitment to close the Office of the High Representative /OHR/, Dodik has stressed that he said long time ago that the office was no longer needed so he is pleased to hear that Russia has the same position, and that more and more European countries support this position, too.
“Do you know what kind of masquerade is ongoing and how many broken principles are there here? BiH moves towards the EU, but has reached the point where the issue of becoming a candidate for EU membership is being reviewed. On the other hand, all European standards suggest that only sovereign states may access the EU, and BiH is a country under protectorate”, said Dodik.
He has wondered how BiH can be entitled to access the EU, given the High Representative, when the accession to the EU is a decision of a people of a sovereign state.
The Srpska president has reminded that the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission stated in 2005 that BiH needed to give up the high representative if it wanted to join the EU, but everyone is silent about this now and the abolition of the OHR has been prevented for 12 years.
“The High Representative’s aim now is to feign requirements for us, which are simply impossible to fulfill. Then he can put blame on us that we do not carry out our tasks. In fact, he is firmly holding his high salary, which amounts to 24,000 Euros a month, plus expenses paid,” said Dodik.
He has stated that the High Representative is not paying taxes in ether Bosnia and Herzegovina or his own country, which is why he is ready to constantly write negative reports, in order to keep his position as long as possible; anyway Dodik is of the opinion that this will soon come to an end.
Source: Srna
