Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik told reporters for Sputnik that both his governing party and the opposition in RS support the celebration of RS National Day on January 9, in defiance of a controversial decision by the BiH Constitutional Court. Mr. Dodik stressed that the holiday celebrated the creation of RS, which took place before the war in Bosnia began. The entity’s legacy of autonomy is not only important to RS citizens, but is enshrined in BiH law. “Republika Srpska can be in BiH as defined by the Dayton Agreement. Srpska does not see its future in a centralized BiH and it will oppose it,” Dodik said.
In the interview, President Dodik also spoke about Republika Srpska’s relationship with Russia. He said that while RS is committed to European integration, it is not willing to sacrifice its ties with Russia in order to win favor with the west.
Dodik said that the Serbian people have good experiences with Russia, which has never asked for any concessions for the support it undoubtedly provided to Republika Srpska, and this is something that must be respected.
“On the other hand, we have the West which even today is asking us to give up some of our national positions, including Republika Srpska, since, they say, this is a road we should take. Essentially, they are practicing on us, they do not respect the reality and do not hear that which we are telling them,” Dodik said.
