RS leader: Russia's role "useful and impartial"

RS leader: Russia's role "useful and impartial"

MOSCOW -- RS President Milorad Dodik has said that Russia "proved to be useful and impartial politically" when it comes to the Serb entity in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

"Their defense of the international position and the Dayton peace agreement was of great importance in the past, based on which we could build our internal policies," Dodik, who is on a two-day visit to Moscow, has been quoted as saying.

He told the entity's public broadcaster RTRS that "because of a series of well-known and objective reasons, starting with Ukraine all the way to the deadlock in Bosnia-Herzegovina" it was very important to continue discussions about "important political issues" with President Vladimir Putin.

According to Dodik, he and other RS officials will discuss with Putin "both the development of the situation in Ukraine, and the manner in which the processes in Bosnia-Herzegovina have been unfolding."

"We are very interested in that, because it obviously reflects on our position," Dodik stressed, and added that he was proud that the entity had "partnership relations" with Russia.

RTRS reported that Russia's Vnesh Ekonom bank planned to donate half a million euros in order to renovate and equip a hospital in the town of Šamac, and that this will be "only a part of the projects that will be finalized during the visit."

Dodik is accompanied on his trip by RS Prime Minister Željka Cvijanović, and is slated to hold meetings with Zarubezhneft and Gazprom officials in order to encourage Russia to continue with investments, "despite the obstructions coming from the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina (entity)."

"Very complex"

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