Dodik claims Serbian PM denied permission to fly to Banja Luka

Macut was supposed to attend a ceremony on the recently introduced Day of Serbian Unity, Freedom, and the National Flag which is a state holiday in both Serbia and the RS.

“The political madness and outpouring of hatred from Bosniak politicians must come to an end. By deciding to unilaterally ban the flight of Serbian Prime Minister Djuro Macut, they have exceeded every measure. They have no right to such a decision. It is not constitutional. It does not respect the constitutiveness of the people, Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks. It excludes one people. And when I say that BiH is an impossible country, they immediately rush to confirm it. If Republika Srpska celebrates a holiday together with Serbia, what does that have to do with Sarajevo? Let the Bosniaks celebrate with Iran whatever they want; Iran is all that's left for them. With everyone else, they have driven relations to the point of enmity,” Dodik wrote in an X post.

He added that the holiday will be marked with officials from Serbia in Banja Luka “while the shame will remain in Sarajevo”.

Bosnian media claim that the request for the flight came to the Bosnia-Herzegovina Foreign Ministry from the Serbian embassy in Sarajevo minutes after Macut’s flight was scheduled to take off. Macut was due to fly in a Serbian government aircraft. According to protocol, requests for overflights have to be submitted at least 72 hours beforehand. Foreign Minister Elemedin Konakovic said the request would be considered within by the deadline set by law.

The media published both pages of the request from the Serbian Embassy which was dated September 11 but the stamp acknowledging receipt by the Bosnia-Herzegovina Foreign Ministry is dated September 14.