Bosnian presidency urged to take stand on Srebrenica draft

Bosnian presidency urged to take stand on Srebrenica draft

Nikolic said that the fact that the Bosnian Presidency has not made a stand on the Srebrenica resolution could be interpreted differently, and have repercussions for Serbia and the RS - so Ivanic should call the meeting of Bosnia's collective body and make its stand public.

The president said that he would not like to interfere in what is up to the Bosnian Presidency to decide, but that "the one who represents the RS in Sarajevo must advocate the RS stand.”

“Serbia will certainly make a decision about the resolution, but Bosnia-Herzegovina should be the first to do that,” Nikolic stated.

The draft resolution - prepared by Britain - is directed against the RS, but also against Serbia's interests, he said.

Nikolic said that he respects the victims of the Srebrenica crime - noting that the only time he stood up while speaking in the Serbian parliament as an MP was when he addressed this issue - but added, "this does not mean that the Serb people should be destroyed now and that the word 'Srebrenica' should be imposed onto the world under the term of genocide.”

"Imagine how many peoples will be hurt by pushing their victims - victims of genocide - to the background only because the politics today is such that the Serb people should be halted in their obvious progress, and it the neutral stance toward conflicts in Europe and across the world," Nikolic remarked.

The president also revealed he was "proud" when he heard Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic "offering financial assistance to the RS."

"Financial assistance"

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic stated on Friday that Serbia is ready to provide financial assistance to the RS "if necessary."

Addressing the joint news conference, Vucic said that although RS officials did not voice such a request, Serbia is ready to help in case of problems with solvency.

According to him, the Serb entity "does not have problems with deficit and budget holes, but it can experience problems with solvency due to lack of arrangements with the IMF and different modes of communication with the World Bank."

We do not have any problems with solvency and at this point, we have EUR 1.15 billion in different currencies, Vucic said.

Vucic noted that Serbia and the RS would build the bridge over the Drina River between Ljubovija and Bratunac and added that there are no problems with project funding.

He recalled that Serbia provided EUR 1 million worth of assistance to RS after the spring floods in 2014 and it also helped reconstruction of schools in Samac and Doboj which will open to students soon and one of which will bear Serbia's name.