Bosnian Serb Leader Pays 'Historic' Visit to Srebrenica

Dodik visited the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica on Thursday, laying flowers at the memorial centre that commemorates the Bosniak victims and paying tribute to the thousands who were massacred after the UN-protected enclave fell to Serb forces in July 1995.

"It is true that a crime happened here and I am sorry for all the victims, but the fact is that this event is also being politicised a lot," Dodik told local media.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is preparing to mark the 20th anniversary this year of the mass killings, the worst atrocity in Europe since World War II, which has been classified as genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.

Former US President Bill Clinton and current Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are among those expected to attend commemoration events in July.

Dodik however has been known for his firm denials that the killings represented genocide.

Srebrenica is now a part of Republika Srpska. Its Bosniak mayor Camil Durakovic greeted Dodik and praised his decision to visit.

"The very act of him coming into the memorial centre, laying flowers and paying respect to the victims says enough about his behaviour, both official and individual," Durakovic told media.

"For me, this is a historical act, a positive visit which will significantly ease relations between the municipality of Srebrenica and the government as well as the entity of Republika Srpska," he added.

Durakovic also said that Dodik had offered to help the financing of events to mark the 20th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacres and that the Republika Srpska government would contribute around 25,000 euro, which has never happened in previous years.

But the vice-president of Republika Srpska...