The President of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian entity Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, said that Republika Srpska will respond with reciprocal measures if Slovenia adopts a policy of sanctions.
“If Slovenia and its policy move toward sanctions, we will find a way to respond. Slovenians need to know that we in Republika Srpska will implement reciprocal measures, whatever that may mean. Perhaps Slovenian ministers will be banned from using Republika Srpska as a transit route. Some may find that laughable, but that’s how a former German minister was also forced to leave Srpska. They can laugh about it in Sarajevo, but they’ll see that it’s transparent,” Dodik said in a joint interview with media from Republika Srpska in Moscow.
His statement comes after reports emerged that four more European Union member states—Estonia, Slovenia, Poland, and the Czech Republic—are considering imposing sanctions on Dodik, the Prime Minister of Republika Srpska Radovan Višković, and the President of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska Nenad Stevandić. Previously, Austria and Germany had already imposed sanctions on the leadership of Republika Srpska.
As a reminder, a warrant has been issued for the President of Republika Srpska as part of an investigation into an attack on the constitutional order of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Previously, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in a first-instance verdict, sentenced Milorad Dodik to one year in prison and banned him from holding the office of president for six years due to non-compliance with the decisions of the High Representative.
Dodik stated that Republika Srpska remains committed to Slovenian businesspeople, who need to understand that politics is doing them a disservice.
He also said that he respects the Slovenian state, despite belonging to a generation that was deeply affected by the breakup of Yugoslavia, and urged Slovenians not to be unfair.
Written by our correspondent D.I.
