The President of Bosnia’s Republika Srpska (RS) entity, Milorad Dodik, reiterated that the RS is not implementing a secession plan, and referred to the CIA director William Burns’ visit to Sarajevo and the region, which he called enlightening.

“After 20 years in the highest positions, it's clear to me, I know what a spin is. We have all lost trust in the media, and few people can believe in speculations. After the CIA director's visit, there is only one manipulative view coming from Sarajevo. And this time I welcome the fact that the director of the CIA had the opportunity to get familiar with the situation while staying in Sarajevo,” Dodik said.

He noted that he supports the territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina in accordance with the Dayton Peace Agreement.

“Yes, we support the territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina in accordance with the Dayton Agreement. That's what we said. This is usually omitted by some local media and the opposition. RS has no plans for secession. It never had a plan for secession, RS is determined to defend its political autonomy. The RS believes that if BiH is not sustainable according to Dayton, it is better to separate peacefully”, Dodik said.

He once again stated that “the RS has a plan to defend the constitutional position of the RS”.

“There is no secession plan here. We have a plan to defend our constitutional position. We remain on the basis of the written letter of Dayton and we will continue to fight. As the director of the CIA nicely said that not only Dodik was responsible for the situation in BiH, but all three national parties. He thereby rejected the concept of a civic BiH”, Dodik reported.

When asked when he will retire from politics, Dodik said:

“I will decide when I’ll retire. I'm close to 65 and I should go to regular retirement, not a political one. It was misrepresented that he (the CIA director) was a boogeyman. He said at the BiH Presidency session that he was not proud of how some of his compatriots were acting, which was clear to us. He’s a smart man”.

“I'm not a man who retires, that's the answer concerning retirement”, he concluded, repeating that the RS leads a policy of peace, and that it is economically stable, despite the added economic pressures and sanctions.