The President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, today in Banja Luka presented Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban with the Order of the Republika Srpska on a necklace, with which he was awarded on the occasion of the Republic Day on January 9, which was declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Hungarian Prime Minister stated at the ceremony that he considers this award a sign of respect, but also an expression of friendship.
“It is an expression of friendship and love between friends, there is emotion, trust, optimism in relation to the common future,” said Orban.
Recalling that since the beginning of the nineties of the 20th century, he followed everything that happened to the Serbs, he stated that the Serbian people are still struggling to find their place in the new geopolitical situation. “I give credit to you Serbs for how you are looking for your place and how you find it in the new age. Serbs are our neighbors and I have always supported Serbs in international organizations. International politics is not fair to Serbs,” Orban said.
He pointed out that in Europe “they do not recognize that without the inclusion of Serbs in the EU, there is no stability, security and prosperity of the EU”.
Stating that there are currently many problems in the EU, Orban stated that the EU is the only framework today where the Hungarian and Serbian people can do the most. “I will do everything to bring you closer to the EU. BiH and Serbia should have become EU members a long time ago. The EU is expanding to the east, and its expansion to the south is being put on the back burner. This is not good news for BiH, nor for Serbia, nor for Hungary”, emphasized the Hungarian Prime Minister.
He added that Hungary, together with some other EU countries, especially Austria, fought a lot for the opening of the negotiation process for BiH, hoping that it would lead to the consolidation and stabilization of the situation in BiH.
Instead, he said, what followed was the decision of the high representative to impose changes to the BiH Election Law, which, as he assessed, was a “deliberate collapse of all the results achieved in the EU in relation to BiH”.
“Foreigners here interfere in internal affairs. You in BiH have the ability to make your own decisions, they should give you back the ability to solve your own problems, and we should help you. This award gives me the right to work towards that goal. You can count on Hungary and may God protect you,” concluded Viktor Orban.
The President of the RS Milorad Dodik said that the Order of the Republic of Srpska on the necklace is given only to “great friends” and that the Hungarian Prime Minister is that. “Hungary and the RS cooperate in all fields, but never against a third party. We give you this award with pure hearts and with a lot of love, with the desire to strengthen not only our friendships, but also the cooperation of our people and our companies,” said Dodik.
According to him, Serbs and Hungarians should continue to cooperate in order to defend their values, emphasizing that Hungary is an example in Europe and the world of how to maintain family and traditional values and thus preserve the state and national interest.
“This award is an expression of the greatest love and gratitude towards you, and in the time to come we will celebrate our successes together. We know that we will always have friends in you, and you know that you will always have friends in us,” concluded Dodik.
The Order of the Republika Srpska on the necklace is the highest decoration of the RS, and last year it was awarded to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Beta news agency writes.
