Dodik: Independence is legitimate goal

The leader of Bosnia's Serbs said Tuesday that they were moving towards the "highest possible" level of independence, which he said was a legitimate political goal in a country deeply divided since its 1990s war.

Milorad Dodik, president of Republika Srpska (RS), spoke on a holiday for Bosnian Serbs — banned by the BiH constitutional court — to celebrate the anniversary of the creation of the RS entity.

"Our goal is the highest possible independence for the RS. We are moving in that direction and that is a legitimate political goal," Dodik told Serbia's national RTS television.

Meanwhile, the goal of Bosnian Muslims and "foreigners" is to make Bosnia a highly centralised country, he said.

"But these two concepts are simply incompatible."

The peace deal that ended Bosnia's war split the Balkan country into two semi-independent entities — the RS and a...