Dodik may declare independence of Republika Srpska if Trump becomes U.S. president
President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik (Getty Images)
President of the Republic of Srpska Milorad Dodik is ready to declare the region's independence from Bosnia and Herzegovina if Donald Trump is elected President of the United States in the 2024 elections, according to Milorad Dodik's statement in an interview with TV Prva.
Dodik said that when Donald Trump won in America in 2016, he had the intention to declare the independence of the Republic of Srpska, but then some around him got scared and he did not do it.
"I must say that today I regret not having done it. But if Trump wins again, I think I wouldn't hesitate," said the President of the Republic of Srpska.
He emphasized his belief in the independence of the Republic of Srpska and believes that it will happen someday.
Dodik often makes statements about the possibility of declaring independence of this entity from Bosnia and Herzegovina. He said in July that a referendum on its future status could take place in the Republic of Srpska by the end of the year, but this has not happened.
Situation in the Republic of Srpska
In July, President of the Republic of Srpska Milorad Dodik openly signed a separatist law refusing to publish acts and laws of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Republic of Srpska, which drew sharp criticism from the High Representative of the International Community Christian Schmidt. He annulled two laws that ignored the provisions of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, leading to a criminal case being filed against him in the Republic of Srpska.
According to the Dayton Peace Agreement, Bosnia, after the war in the 1990s, was divided into autonomous regions: the Republic of Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where Bosniaks and Croats reside.
