Byzantine Blog

Serbian President Calls on Lajcak to Reevaluate his Measures

“The voice of Republic of Srpska (RS) must be respected because the Dayton Accord stipulates that changes to any principles have to be supported by the consensus of all three of the constituent peoples. As a signatory of the peace agreement, Serbia is dedicated to that principle,” Serbia’s President Boris Tadic told Tanjug today.

“We respect the territorial integrity of every state, Bosnia-Herzegovina unambiguously so. Bosnia’s constitutionality is based on the principles of the Dayton Accords, and no decisions can be made at the expense of one of the constituent nations,” said Tadic.

Diplomats Ought to be Able to Refrain from Threatening With Their Country’s Swift Revenge

Serbian President called on Lajcak to reach a compromise with RS Prime Minister Milorad Dodik, and to react to inappropriate messages that certain officials in Bosnia had been issuing to Serbs.

Inappropriate and undiplomatic remarks containing threats were not a solution to the dispute, Tadic said, and called on the international community and Bosnian officials to temper their passions, and to respect the Dayton Accords as a guarantee of peace and stability.

Serbian Government Fully Supports Republika Srpska Premier

Serbian Interior Minister Dragan Jocic has said that Serbian government firmly supports Republika Srpska Premier Dodik in his attempts to ensure the functioning and status of the Serbian republic, in keeping with the principles enshrined in the Dayton Agreement.

“As a signatory of the Dayton Accords, Serbia insists on their verbatim implementation and the preservation of Republika Srpska,” Jocic told Tanjug today.

The interior minister added that the high representative had to be mindful of the fact that under the accords, Bosnia-Hercegovina was not a unitary state, but a state made up of two entities, and that the Republika Srpska status was guaranteed by the treaty.

Not Free to Violate Laws When Hurting Serbs is the Objective

“Lajcak’s measures have already provoked a serious crisis and they have to be immediately withdrawn. It has to be said that the entire responsibility for the possible worsening of the relations in Bosnia lies on [Bosnia’s High Representative] Lajcak, due to his attempts to impose his dictate and abolish Republika Srpska,” Minister Jocic said.

He stressed that Serbia insists on the respect for Dayton Accords and preservation of Republika Srpska the same way it insists on respect for the UN Security Council Resolution 1244 that is preserving its southern province of Kosovo-Metohija.

“The international agreements and laws cannot be violated only when the violations are aimed at hurting the Serbian nation,” Jocic said.

If it’s OK for Portugal to Have a Say on Bosnia, Why is it Not OK for Serbia?

Meanwhile, responding to the Western mainstream media accusations that Republika Srpska representatives are being “spurred” to oppose Lajcak’s dictate by Russia and Serbia, Republika Srpska Prime Minister Dodik said that his government talks no more or less with Moscow and Belgrade than with any other state officials.

“Serbia, as one of the signatories of Dayton Agreement, has additional responsibilities and I don’t see why would someone think it’s normal for Portugal to comment and have its say on Bosnian relations, but Serbia should not have the same right,” Dodik said.

Cartoon by Nikola Volas (Serbia)