Dodik: Why does anyone think that it is possible for Kosovo to be independent and that Republika Srpska should remain a part of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, asked today, commenting on the meeting between Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina Christian Schmidt, why anyone thought that was possible for Kosovo to be independent, and that Republika Srpska should remain a part of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Kurti and Schmidt met yesterday during the Prespa Forum, and the Kosovo Prime Minister wrote after that meeting that "he conveyed to Schmidt that Bosnia needed a strong Sarajevo and the empowerment of Bosniaks as victims of genocide, while Serbia’s aggression against Kosovo had to be condemned by everyone because it had implications for the wider region".

When asked by journalists in Banja Luka to comment on that meeting and Kurti's message, Dodik replied:

"Kurti and Schmidt. What a pair of fools..., huh? But, well, I don't know what to comment...".

As he said, Schmidt, as a citizen of Germany, could "walk around as much as he wants and be received by whoever he wants", and in response to Kurti's remark that Bosnia and Herzegovina should strengthen Sarajevo, he asked why he did not say in Serbia that Belgrade should be strengthened.

"It's the most ordinary hypocrisy. He would break Serbia, strengthen Pristina, and come here and give us a lecture on how to strengthen Sarajevo and reduce the autonomy of Republika Srpska. And we constantly wonder how it is possible that the Western factor is pushing Pristina, i.e. Kosovo into an independent state, and they say to Republika Srpska - shut up, don't talk about it. How is that possible? Here, I say - why does anyone think that it is possible to build Kosovo as an independent state and that Republika Srpska should remain a part of Bosnia and Herzegovina? And that some other fools like him give us a lecture on what needs to be done here," Dodik said.

But, as he noted, that was also possible, if one took into account Gabriel Escobar's statement.

"He says that in the last 90 days, everything they do, they do in favor of Kosovo, including admission to the CoE, holding elections... Well, you gave legitimacy to the elections with only a three percent turnout... They supported him, and then they are surprised that he is doing this... Unbelievable," Dodik said.

He added that Schmidt was not deserving of any of his comments because he was a man "who attracts attention and nothing else".