Republic of Srpska Leader Rejects Western Determination of Political Status

The Republic of Srpska (one of the two constituent entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina) cannot let the West determine its political status, Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik said. "We cannot let the West determine our status again. In the past, Hitler came here in tanks, and today, German politics is coming here acting through [High Representative] Christian Schmidt. The West thinks that we belong to someone but we don't want to belong to anyone. On the other hand, Russia has always been willing to listed to the opinion of the Republic of Srpska and be its partner," he said at a forum on the geopolitical situation in Europe in Banja Luka. According to Dodik, the Serbs are concerned over Germany's militarization, which triggered instability in the Balkans in the past. He stressed that the Republic of Srpska is not arming, while neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina has 11 defense enterprises. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko attended the forum. He called for dissolving the office of the high representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina as it only impedes the peace process. Under the constitution envisaged by the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Dayton Agreement) of 1995, Bosnia and Herzegovina is comprised of two entities, namely the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (around 51% of the territory) and the Republic of Srpska (around 49%), as well as the Brcko District. The three key ethno-religious groups, i.e. the Bosniaks (Slavs professing Islam), the Serbs (Orthodox Christians), and the Croats (Catholics), are proportionally represented in the state governance system. In fact, the country is governed via the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, whose office was set up under the Dayton Agreement, and who is appointed by the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) upon the UN Security Council's consent. However, in 2021, the Board members appointed Hans Christian Schmidt of Germany to the post without agreeing his candidature with the UN Security Council. For these reasons, his legitimacy is challenged by the Republic of Srpska.