Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (BiH) Foreign Minister Elmedin Konaković said that Russia is destabilizing the Western Balkans through politicians such as Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik in BiH, Andrija Mandić in Montenegro, and “several others who have subordinated their policies to the interests of Russia rather than to the Serbs in the Balkans.”

“My message to Russia is – if you respect BiH, if you respect Republika Srpska, if you respect the Serbs in BiH, let the people defend their own interests and do not subordinate them to the interests of the Russian Federation. The Serbs in BiH should join the EU,” Konaković told the Sarajevo news portal Raport.

He stressed that he had informed the foreign ministries of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy (the Quint) about Russia’s policies aimed at destabilizing the Balkans.

Commenting on the stance of Serbia and Hungary that they will not recognize the final guilty verdict of the BiH Court against Dodik, he said that in his letter to the Quint countries he also explained “the phenomenon of blatant interference by Serbia and Hungary in the internal affairs of BiH.”

“We warn them not to do this. If they do not respect the institutions of our country, we will not respect the institutions of theirs,” Konaković said firmly.

According to him, if Serbia and Hungary are true friends of BiH, after Milorad Dodik retires from politics they will have the opportunity to focus on the real interests of the country’s citizens.

Konaković also commented on Dodik’s recent interview with RS Radio-Television, in which Dodik accused British Foreign Secretary David Lammy of “wanting to relocate his fellow countrymen to BiH because he is Black.”

“Nothing Dodik says can surprise me. I knew he was a nationalist and a fascist, but I didn’t know he was also a racist,” he said.

When asked whether Dodik might refuse to accept the BiH Court’s verdict, Konaković replied that if he acted that way, it would constitute a new criminal offense and he would be the one to “behead” RS.

Regarding his earlier statements that he would call on citizens to protest if the BiH Court acquitted Dodik, Konaković emphasized that his aim was to prevent any potential “deal or arrangement” between Dodik and judicial or law enforcement agencies for an acquittal.

He added that BiH has strong lobbyists in the US and “all the channels to the very top of the new US administration,” while Dodik had wasted large amounts of RS taxpayers’ money on lobbying in the US without achieving significant results.

Konaković said Dodik would soon feel the impact of US measures, as the US Congress is expected to adopt a law sanctioning those who violate the Dayton Peace Agreement. He concluded by noting that while BiH is currently not a focus of the US administration, it is in the focus of European institutions. | BGNES