
A meeting between Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and a member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH),Milorad Dodik was held in Belgrade. Interestingly, they agreed on the need to extend EUFOR Althea’s mission in BiH.
To recall, the EUFOR mission expires in November and must be approved by the United Nations (UN) Security Council in order to be extended.
“I informed the president that the Althea mission should be extended and its further functioning should be approved. The decision is up to the UN Security Council. We have nothing against that decision stays the same as last year,” Dodik noted.
This position is somewhat surprising because it is feared that Russia, which has the right of veto, will block the continuation of the mission in the Security Council.
Also, Dodik mentioned that the situation in BiH is complex and that this is “the culmination of various events from the past”. He meant the decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH, primarily those concerning the ownership of land and forests, the decisions of the High Representative (HR), etc.
“In an almost impossible atmosphere of pressure, Republika Srpska (RS) agreed to abolish the RS Army and form the Armed Forces (AF) of BiH. The Constitution does not recognize the competencies for defense,” Dodik said, reiterating that the competencies in these areas would be restored.
“We will continue our activities to get the best estimates. RS is hurt, we are disempowered there by the force of the international factor. This is a confusing situation in which no one wants to negotiate, ” he emphasized.
“I said that I am not ready to sacrifice peace for RS, but I am ready to personally sacrifice for RS. That system of the army and other institutions, such as the prosecution, does not exist in the Constitution. The other day there was a session of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC), six Bosniaks “voted to remove the chief prosecutor, no Serbs or Croats voted. Bosniaks want to take over the judiciary to govern the political process in the future,” told Dodik.
He added that RS cannot allow its land and forests to be confiscated and that resolving those issues is crucial to ending the blockades.
“Peace has no price or alternative. But if someone thinks that we should hand over RS after threats by the war on the other side, they are mistaken. We intend to peacefully fight for our rights. What you stole, we will either return unilaterally, or we will agree on a new arrangement on these things, ” concluded the member of the BiH Presidency.
E.Dz.
Source: Klix.ba