@nujaas Nachschlag Dodik: Dodik: "Our main foreign policy priority is successful cooperation with Serbia, Russia, our friend Hungary, with China and others who would like that. Of course, we will not shut our door to the West, we will try talking with them too, but they must learn that such communication will no longer possible from a position of demand of total obedience and submission. So, if the West wants to talk, it must respect our foreign policy priorities, and they are connected with the historically proven friendship between the Russian Federation and the Serbian people,"
"My overall lead, according to the results of the election, is 30,000 votes, or about 5-6%. Amid the current circumstances, it is a very substantial result, which cannot be called into question by any actions launched here by opposition parties, which are abetted by Western embassies to generate instability. However, the situation is peaceful and stable, and we are considering forming the government, so the first meetings are taking place today,"
BiH interest in joining EU has waned after Ukraine was granted candidate status — Dodik
As Milorad Dodik said, the EU revealed its inconsistent nature when, following 10-15 years of its steadfast policy, Bosnia and Herzegovina was not granted EU candidate status, but this status was given to Ukraine
The interest of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) to join the European Union has considerably faded after Ukraine was granted candidate status, Milorad Dodik, the current Serb member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who has won the presidential election in Republika Srpska (BiH entity), told TASS on Wednesday.
"As for foreign policy, we have to acknowledge that our past enthusiasm to join the EU, from 30 years ago, has seriously waned. The European Union sent Bosnia and Herzegovina a message that looked more like the ultimatum from Austria-Hungary to Serbia in 1914, rather than something constructive. It further closed the doors and diminished our aspiration to join the EU, but in some formal sense, this [path to join the EU] still remains our position," Dodik said.
"The European Union revealed its inconsistent nature when, following 10-15 years of its steadfast policy, Bosnia and Herzegovina was not granted EU candidate status, but this status was given to Ukraine," he added.
"We were sent a message, which we understood very well: there is ‘ad hoc politics’ that advances their interests rather than integrates a region through the execution of certain procedures," he said.
Earlier, Dodik pointed out that the Council of Europe’s decision not to grant candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina was "a huge disappointment" for the country. He emphasized that the popularity of the European Union has significantly decreased in Bosnia and Herzegovina in recent years, but the country is still pursuing its European path.
On July 23, the EU summit backed granting Ukraine and Moldova the status of candidates to join the EU, while the application of Bosnia and Herzegovina was turned down. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen stated that Ukraine would have to work hard and undertake important reforms to make progress on its path to joining the EU.