Vučić: Any conflict would be an economic end for all of us

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The meeting between Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and political representatives of Bosnian Serbs has concluded. 

Vučić said in his address to the public after the meeting that Serbia is obliged to give its reaction to any violation of the Dayton Peace Agreement. 

“When there was an election campaign in BiH, I was the only leader who did not go to the territory of BiH and interfere in the election process,” Vučić said.

Vučić said he would not give his judgment on the SDA declaration.

“What I noticed, and I tell you, is that the people from RS agree on the survival of RS, a negative attitude towards the text of the SDA declaration, and the attitude and respect towards Serbia. Serbia's policy is that we call on President Dodik and President Cvijanović, and all our people standing here behind me, to show full restraint, not to react hastily, to react in accordance with the interests of RS, Serbia, and I would say BiH, to do our best to preserve peace and stability. Any conflict would mean an economic collapse and an economic end for all of us,” Vučić said and called for a de-escalation of tensions.

Milorad Dodik, a member of the BiH Presidency, said that the SDA declaration is not an internal document of that party. 

“It is aimed at destroying the Republika Srpska. They have some support from foreigners too. RS is a priority and the only possible republic in that area, we reject this declaration as anti-Serb, anti-Dayton, and anti-constitutional. Today we informed the president about this in an effort to secure agreement on this issue regarding possible support from Serbia in the defense of RS,” Dodik said. 

He confirmed that not all meeting participants have the same view on what should be done, but they all condemned the content of the SDA declaration.

“The political representatives of RS do not have the same views on what should be done. The place where we should create our positions is the NSRS. We will make a decision that any attempt to implement these documents and the declaration from the Bosniak side absolutely requires the activation of our right to secession. I think that is something we should do. We asked Serbia to help us in a situation where we need it, to help us from the standpoint of training our security units because we believe we should not be naive about all this. This is their permanent goal, that there are no Serbs or RS. They want BiH for themselves, in which there is no Serbian language, in which they will take revenge on Serbs,” Dodik said.