Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik's threats of secession are nothing new as separatist and secessionist trends in Republika Srpska have lasted for years, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Thursday, repeating that Croatia supports Bosnia and Herzegovina's integrity and journey to the EU.

In an interview with the Serb entity RTRS broadcaster, Dodik said that the RS parliament will declare the entity's independence on the day High Representative for BiH Christian Schmidt imposes a law on the status of state property. Dodik said that he has information a decision to that effect will be made in January and that the entity authorities have already prepared for such a scenario and will declare secession.

Speaking at a government session, Plenkovic said that Dodik's statement was nothing new, stressing that there were also “tendencies for stronger centralisation and unitarisation of the country, coming from some Bosniak parties.”

“And there is also a concept advocated mostly by Croat political parties that is based on the equality of all three constituent peoples, with Croats, in my opinion, being the most interested and engaged with regard to the country's European path, which we believe is good for all three peoples and will support.”

Even though Dodik's statements are nothing new, one should not underestimate the broader political context, that of “the Russian aggression against Ukraine, the Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel, Israel's response and the ongoing conflict, the growing intensity of illegal migrations, the instability in parts of Africa – all of that has been reflecting on Europe, including the tensions in Kosovo of three months ago. None of that should be underestimated,” Plenkovic said, repeating that Croatia wants “the whole of BiH to move forward on the path to Europe, stabilise and function, and to be free of tensions and conflicts.”