Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has said after a meeting with Milorad Dodik, the president of the Serbian entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska, that they have agreed to organize a quick meeting of all “state authorities” of Serbia and Republika Srpska.
According to him, the meeting will take place in the territory of Republika Srpska in Bosnia.
“I have carefully listened to President Dodik, regarding all the developments in Republika Srpska and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and we have agreed to organize a meeting of all state bodies of Serbia and Republika Srpska in the territory of Republika Srpska as soon as possible,” Vučić wrote in an Instagram post on July 20.
What preceded the meeting?
The meeting between Dodik and Vučić takes place amid growing international criticism towards Dodik, mainly due to the statements and actions of the institutions in this entity, which are considered destabilizing for the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Recently, the Government of Republika Srpska has adopted laws to not implement the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and not to publish the decisions of the High Representative of the international community.
That Dodik’s statements are against Bosnia and Herzegovina’s perspective on EU membership was also stated on Wednesday by EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell.
“The act of distancing from the constitutional order must stop. Divisive rhetoric, threats of secession, threats to territorial integrity, and the glorification of war criminals must stop, because there is no place for such things in Europe,” Borrell said at the fifth meeting of the Stabilization and Association Council, Bosnia-EU.
Dodik’s actions have also been criticized by U.S. envoy for the Western Balkans Gabriel Escobar in a hearing with members of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on July 18.
“Continuous divisive and undemocratic actions threaten the stability, security, and prosperity of the state and the entire region,” he said.
Since the outbreak of the recent crisis in Bosnia, President Vučić has mainly remained on the sidelines, stating that he does not want to comment on the developments there.
