The President of Bosnia’s Republika Srpska (RS) entity, Milorad Dodik, presented Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban with the Order of the Republika Srpska on a necklace, with which he was awarded on the occasion of the RS Day on January 9. Orban received the award despite the decision of the Constitutional Court of BiH, which declared that date unconstitutional.

“Awards are mostly a sign of respect. And this is a sign of respect for me, but it is even more an expression of friendship and love for a friend. It is not an ordinary state act, it has emotions and trust. Optimism concerning the common future. I'm an old man, I've been watching the Serbs for a long time, I remember what it was like for the Serbs when all this was Yugoslavia, when you were more developed than us. I also remember in 1992 in the Hungarian parliament when we voted on the independence of BiH… I also remember the signing of the Dayton Agreement, but also when NATO bombed Belgrade. I observed everything with emotions… I always gave recognition to you Serbs for looking for and finding your place in this new world,” said Orban.

He pointed out that Serbs and Hungarians are connected and that they are neighbours, that is why he supported the Serbs in international politics because international policy towards the Serbs is unfair.

“I see that they treat Serbia unfairly, in Europe they don’t recognize that Serbs are needed in Europe. Without Serbs in the EU there is no European security, without Serbs there is no healthy Union, without Serbs, there is no stability. I fight there every day. But today there is no better framework for our nations to get stronger than the European Union. I will do everything to bring you as close as possible to that international framework. The decision to become a member of the EU should have been made a long time ago. I'm talking about BiH and Serbia at the same time. Now the idea of expansion to the east is emerging…,” he said.

Orban said that the priority should be the expansion of the Union, and that expansion to the east is expensive. He adds that support for starting negotiations for Bosnia and Herzegovina came from Hungary as well as from Austria.

He called Christian Schmidt's decision to impose amendments to the Election Law of BiH provocative.

“Foreigners are interfering in internal affairs here. They should understand that you alone here, the peoples who live alone, should decide. Let us help you and we will not interfere with what you should do. I consider this award the right to continue working towards that goal,” Orban concluded.

Last year, this award went to the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, as stated “for his special patriotic concern and love for the RS.”

Recipients of the highest honour of Republika Srpska include, among others, Serbian Patriarch Pavle, who was awarded in 2009, high-ranking Russian officials Valentina Matvijenko and Sergey Lavrov, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who were awarded in 2018.

After the award ceremony, RS President Milorad Dodik also addressed the media present.

“Only the results remain behind us. Behind us is a series of successful collaborations. Hungary and RS are not far, they are very close. It is up to all of us together to change some things from history. I am looking forward to today's Business Forum,” Dodik said.

But, he added, the world is no longer stable.

“A world that is no longer stable is looking for leaders. Europe has a leadership deficit. We will continue to cooperate in the best possible way. We don’t want to destroy the Constitution of BiH. We ask that what belongs to us belongs to the RS. I think that is a legitimate political demand. We want to strengthen our autonomy. We think that only a balanced relationship within BiH is a guarantee for Europe as well. Any imposition creates decadence. We can’t accept the measures of foreigners and their behavior. What the illegitimate [Christian] Schmidt did was not only an attack on us, but also on Europe. We manage to come to an agreement with the Bosniaks, and then the foreigners destroy that agreement within 24 hours,” said Dodik.

Orban noted that from his point of view, giving money to the RS is more of an investment than aid.

He added that Dodik is a constructive European leader.

“Europe should recognize him for his work. BiH is a decentralized country. A decentralized country can’t be centralized against the will of the entities. If someone's property is confiscated, it leads to big problems. It destroys everything you have managed to achieve so far. The fact that I can say what I think out loud, is because I have a majority at home. In governments where they don’t have a stable majority, they don’t express positive opinions about the RS and Milorad Dodik. I can allow myself to say that there are injustices and that the policy towards the RS is unfair. We need to gather those who understand the situation of the RS. It’s not only Hungary, there are others. From July 1, Hungary takes over, I have a team that will deal with the Western Balkans, especially Bosnia and Herzegovina. I will come to BiH very often from now on,” Orban said.

The Hungarian Prime Minister also spoke about the war between Ukraine and Russia.

“War is always a very bad thing. When you ask the winners, they will say that they had big losses. War is doubly bad. Those sources, financial sources that should have been used for the integration of the Balkan region, are being diverted for the war. We gave € 50 billion to Ukrainians. We say we don't have money, but somehow we found it. And imagine of BiH got 30 billion of that sum,” Orban said.