“Serbia stands firmly by Republic of Srpska”

BELGRADE Serbia stands firmly by Republic of Srpska (RS) and will not allow anyone to blackmail the Serb people in RS, Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said Saturday. He added that Serbia would especially not allow the RS to be pressured through Serbia. “Serbia stands firmly by Republic of Srpska” Dacic said Kosovo was the most important issue for the Serbian people because of history, culture, tradition and religion, but that today the RS was an even greater national and state interest of the Serbian people as a whole, because it is home to over 1.2 million Serbs. "The governments of Serbia and the RS have a responsibility to cooperate and develop togetherness, but not at the detriment of the Dayton Agreement," he told a news conference after a meeting with Socialist Party of the RS leader Petar Djokic. Commenting on speculation that sacrificing RS is one of the conditions of Serbia's European integration, Dacic said this was nonsense and Serbia would never allow it. The prime minister recalled that Serbia was the guarantor of the Dayton Agreement and that no changes could be made to the agreement without the consent of the three constitutive peoples and two entities in Bosnia-Herzegovina. “The Dayton Agreement also entails the existence of Bosnia-Herzegovina as a state and Serbia is not questioning this,” he said. “This is why no one in Sarajevo should be angry that Serbia has special ties with the RS and cooperates with its own people, but no one in Banja Luka has the right to get angry that Serbia is honoring its international obligations and cooperating with the government in Sarajevo,” said the Serbian prime minister. “It is in Serbia's vital interest to advance economic cooperation with the RS, and the Socialist Party of Serbia wants to contribute to this, above all for the future of the Serbian people,” said Dacic. Djokic said it was important that Serbia stressed the need to protect the Dayton Agreement and supported the position that any changes in Bosnia-Herzegovina could come only as a result of agreement between the three constitutive peoples and two entities. He added that by visiting Belgrade, the leadership of the Socialist Party of the RS wanted to support the Serbian government's efforts to solve the Kosovo issue. “We understand and support the Serbian government's efforts to look to the future by accepting a painful solution and help Serbs everywhere remain in their homes,” said Djokic. He added that his party supported Serbia in all endeavors aimed at strengthening the country “because only a strong Serbia can help the RS”. Petar Djokic and Ivica Dacic (Tanjug) Tanjug

“Serbia stands firmly by Republic of Srpska”

Dačić said Kosovo was the most important issue for the Serbian people because of history, culture, tradition and religion, but that today the RS was an even greater national and state interest of the Serbian people as a whole, because it is home to over 1.2 million Serbs.

"The governments of Serbia and the RS have a responsibility to cooperate and develop togetherness, but not at the detriment of the Dayton Agreement," he told a news conference after a meeting with Socialist Party of the RS leader Petar Đokić.

Commenting on speculation that sacrificing RS is one of the conditions of Serbia's European integration, Dačić said this was nonsense and Serbia would never allow it.

The prime minister recalled that Serbia was the guarantor of the Dayton Agreement and that no changes could be made to the agreement without the consent of the three constitutive peoples and two entities in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

“The Dayton Agreement also entails the existence of Bosnia-Herzegovina as a state and Serbia is not questioning this,” he said.

“This is why no one in Sarajevo should be angry that Serbia has special ties with the RS and cooperates with its own people, but no one in Banja Luka has the right to get angry that Serbia is honoring its international obligations and cooperating with the government in Sarajevo,” said the Serbian prime minister.

“It is in Serbia's vital interest to advance economic cooperation with the RS, and the Socialist Party of Serbia wants to contribute to this, above all for the future of the Serbian people,” said Dačić.

Đokić said it was important that Serbia stressed the need to protect the Dayton Agreement and supported the position that any changes in Bosnia-Herzegovina could come only as a result of agreement between the three constitutive peoples and two entities.

He added that by visiting Belgrade, the leadership of the Socialist Party of the RS wanted to support the Serbian government's efforts to solve the Kosovo issue.

“We understand and support the Serbian government's efforts to look to the future by accepting a painful solution and help Serbs everywhere remain in their homes,” said Đokić.

He added that his party supported Serbia in all endeavors aimed at strengthening the country “because only a strong Serbia can help the RS”.