The Republika Srpska (RS) entity President Milorad Dodik said in an interview with the Srpska.info he does not plan to attend any meetings in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) entity if he is elected Bosnia's Presidency member. He would like to host Putin in the RS and Banjaluka, but not in Bosnia.

Dodik said his basic responsibility is the Serb-dominated, semi-autonomous entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the RS and the Serb people in Bosnia and the only meeting he could have in the FBiH is the one with the Serb community in that entity. Whether this will be acceptable to someone in Sarajevo, where the Presidency building is situated, or the international community is of no concern to him.

He said the reason for this is the fact that the Bosnian authorities and the political Sarajevo did everything to diminish the RS’ political influence in the country.

Asked to comment on his statement that the RS and Serbia will be united by the end of this century and the reactions that followed, he told the Srpska.info that regardless of the timeline of his statement, there would be countless reactions.

“In the past century, the Serb people have been demonized as genocidal and fascists and it was the people that suffered the most. When one realizes that everything has been devised against the Serb people, it is only logical that we pronounce this century as the century of our national rehabilitation. I am fully aware that there is no place for wars and violence here, but we still have our political capacity which says that state unification between the RS and Serbia is possible in the next couple of decades,” Dodik added.

Speaking about the Russian support for the RS, he said the support is truly impressive. Russia has never asked for anything in return, he said, but the Russian officials and the Russian President Vladimir Putin only asked how they could help in terms of economic strengthening, healthcare and culture.

Dodik also confirmed his earlier statements about inviting Putin to visit the RS.

“If I win the Presidency, I will invite him as Bosnia’s Presidency member and host him in Banjaluka. That is my wish. However, Putin is a serious politician and we shouldn’t play with this. Putin doesn’t go anywhere by chance,” Dodik responded.

He added the construction of a Serb-Russian cultural centre is underway and Russia’s top officials are expected to attend the laying of the cornerstone.

“Our intention is to invite the Russian President to visit the centre once construction is completed, however, I’m not particularly interested in inviting him to Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Dodik concluded.