DODIK RESPONDS TO KOMŠIĆ: We have no decision on NATO membership

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - BiH Presidency member Milorad Dodik stated today that there is no decision on BiH's membership in NATO, nor will there be one, and that "we in Republika Srpska decide" on this matter, reports RTRS.

Dodik's response followed the statement by Russian Ambassador Petar Ivancov on BiH's path to NATO, and the reaction of BiH Presidency member Željko Komšić, who stated: "Komšić: Ivancov attacks the laws and decisions of the state of BiH".

When asked to comment on the statements that the Russian Ambassador to BiH Petar Ivancov is interfering in BiH's internal affairs and "does not respect the decisions of its institutions" when it comes to whether BiH should join NATO, Dodik said that there is no decision on NATO membership and no path for BiH into that alliance, nor will there be, and that Ivancov or the Russian Federation are not to blame for this.

"The Russian Federation has a friendly policy towards BiH, based on international law, not hiding that it has good relations with Republika Srpska," Dodik stated.

He emphasized that Komšić and Bakir Izetbegović are not pursuing a principled policy, nor are they defending BiH's interests, because what they are saying is not in the interest of Republika Srpska.

"They are mere ventriloquists for their mentors, who hide in other embassies in Sarajevo. If they were truly protectors of BiH's interests, which they swear by, they would not sacrifice their Minister of Security for the sake of the Ambassador of Pakistan, nor would they pay closer attention to what the Peace Implementation Council, an invented body, says than to the BiH Parliament, elected in elections," Dodik concluded.