Serbia will not impose sanctions on Dodik

Serbia will in no way implement sanctions against Serbs in BiH and Republika Srpska or their representatives said President Aleksandar Vučić, who expressed concern over the US Treasury imposing sanctions against BiH’s Republika Srpska leader Milorad Dodik.

“I am very concerned over the sanctions against Dodik and others in the Republika Srpska (RS) because of the way they were imposed,” Vučić told reporters in Belgrade on Thursday.

Vučić said he spoke to Dodik and RS President Zeljka Cvijanović. “Serbia is not happy about this nor does it believe that the solution lies in sanctions and there is no doubt that Serbia will not agree on any point and will not implement sanctions against its people and the representatives of the Serb people in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the RS,” Vučić said.

He said that the decision to impose sanctions on the Dodik-affiliated Alternativna TV from Banja Luka was terrible. “We will have a lot of questions about the behaviour of other media and links to crime and corruption,” he said.

“As early as 10 or 11 January, I will speak with Dodik and Cvijanović. This is about very complicated matters where an urgent reaction, let alone a precipitate one, is not appropriate because this brings numerous challenges not only for Srpska but for Serbia as well,” Vučić said.

“We must maintain rational, decent and fair relations with the Americans as they are a great power while, on the other hand, we will not go back to the times when blockades and barricades targeting political representatives of our nation were being put up on the Drina,” he said.

(EURACTIV.rs | betabriefing.com)