The High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, told the Austrian portal Profit.at that the competent state institutions “must deal with the problem” of the arrest of the RS president, adding that it remains to be seen what the outcome will be.
He stressed that the state institutions are functioning, but that, as he said, they must act prudently and cautiously, because Milorad Dodik, who is most responsible for the crisis in the country, is in a “dead end”.
Schmidt said that Dodik plans to fly to Moscow on Wednesday, and when asked by reporters whether Dodik would return from there if he flew to Moscow, Schmidt said that it was an “interesting question” and that they “noticed that there is one EU member state that has, apparently, already considered the possibility of a protective escort”.
The High Representative assessed that he does not see a readiness for violence in the RS, “not even among those who want the secession of the RS”.
He assessed that Dodik “is not bluffing” and that he is still trying to “peacefully draw new borders”, but that, as he said, the question is who is responsible for the escalation of tensions in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“It’s hard when someone overestimates themselves. I believe that many people in RS do not necessarily support Dodik, but a certain degree of dependence exists through employment in the over-inflated civil service,” Schmidt said.
He added that few Serbs employed in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s institutions are interested in responding to Dodik’s call to leave their jobs and move to RS institutions.
“The strategy of winning everyone over is not working. That’s good news,” Schmidt said.
He said he was not afraid of an escalation of violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but that he saw a “legal escalation” and that there was a real crisis in the country.
“Milorad Dodik wants a completely new constitution for RS. This is a long-planned preparation for independence and possible other scenarios that exist in the region,” the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina said.
The Court of BiH today issued an arrest warrant for Dodik, RS Prime Minister Radovan Višković and RS National Assembly Speaker Nenad Stevandić on suspicion of carrying out an attack on the constitutional order of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
