The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, and the President of the Republika Srpska (RS) of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mirollad Dodik, met in Banja Luka a few hours after the announcement of Dodik's sentence.
Dodik was sentenced by a court in Sarajevo to one year in prison and a six-year ban from holding the office of president of RS for disrespecting the decisions of the High Representative of the international community, Christian Schmidt.
Immediately after the sentence, it was announced that Vučić would travel to Banja Luka for a meeting with Dodik. During the meeting that took place this evening, the two described the decision as an attack “against Republika Srpska and the Serbian people as a whole.”
"It is a difficult day for the Serbian people as a whole. Dodik, in our opinion, has been given a first-degree sentence in a strange and meaningless legal procedure," Vučić said.
He invited Dodik to show what he called Serbian commitment to peace, dialogue, and not through threats and blackmail.
"I came to Banja Luka, not because I can in any way influence the decisions of the RS leadership, but to offer support to our people in RS and to say that Serbia is with them and to tell Dodik this, without endangering anyone," he said.
Vučić stressed the need to preserve the Dayton Agreement, announcing that a meeting of the Serbian Parliament will also be held, to which Dodik will also be invited.
After the meeting, Dodik said that the Republika Srpska entity is committed to maintaining peace and stability and that it is ready for talks in Sarajevo, or anywhere else in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
"We are not attacking anyone, we have no war plan and we are not preparing resources. We are ready for talks, but not to be ignored. I am ready to talk to all representatives of the Bosniak and Croat people and show how we can make Bosnia and Herzegovina constitutional and stable for everyone, and not to be subjugated here," Dodik said at a press conference in Banja Luka.
As he said, RS insists on what is guaranteed by the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and “nothing more than that.”
"We are ready for dialogue on difficult topics, such as the Court and Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but we are not ready to accept an ignorant treatment of the Serbian people and RS," Dodik said, speaking at a press conference with Serbian President Vučić.
At the meeting in Banja Luka, in addition to Dodik and Vučić, there were also Sinisa Mali, Minister of Finance of Serbia, Željka Cvijanović, member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Radovan Višković, Prime Minister of Republika Srpska, and Nenad Stevandić, Speaker of the National Assembly of RS.
Dodik was accused of signing presidential decrees declaring two RS laws unconstitutional, which the High Representative had previously declared invalid.
This concerns the laws on the non-implementation of decisions of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as decisions of the High Representative, in the territory of this entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In addition to Dodik, Milos Lukic, the interim director of the RS Official Gazette, was also accused of disrespecting the high representative's decisions on publishing laws, but he was found not guilty.
The decision of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina can be appealed. The Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina provides for a prison sentence of five years and a ban on holding political office for this offense.
This concerns the laws on the non-implementation of decisions of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as decisions of the High Representative, in the territory of this entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In addition to Dodik, Milos Lukic, the interim director of the RS Official Gazette, was also accused of disrespecting the high representative's decisions on publishing laws, but he was found not guilty.
The decision of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina can be appealed. The Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina provides for a prison sentence of five years and a ban on exercising political functions for this violation. /REL (A2 Televizion)
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