(DCNF)—The president of the ruling political party in Republika Srpska, a political entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina, called upon President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin to support the independence of Srpska in an exclusive interview with the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Milorad Dodik, the president of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), told the DCNF that, if his push for independence is successful, he would consider submitting an application for the new nation to join the 27-member European Union (EU). The interview was held just days before Bosnia and Herzegovina’s general election Sunday.
Dodik is one of a small number of world leaders who simultaneously maintains positive relations with both the United States and Russia. When explicitly asked by the DCNF if he was calling upon Trump and Putin to support the independence of Srpska, Dodik said he was begging for their support in this initiative.
“I call upon them; I beg them,” Dodik told the DCNF through a translator during his interview in the presidential palace. “If they could only allocate five minutes of their precious time to consider the situation here, it would all be clear to them.”
“I think that we deserve that,” Dodik said through the translator. “But if Donald Trump fails to do that, I will still continue to support him.”
While Republika Srpska already functions as a significant political entity inside Bosnia and Herzegovina, internationally recognized independence would allow the would-be small nation to stand itself up rather quickly, Dodik said.
“It would only take 15 minutes for Republika Srpska to start functioning as an independent state,” Dodik told the DCNF.
“We are part of the European family,” Dodik said. “Actually, we [Republika Srpska] stand a better chance of joining the EU because, via Bosnia and Herzegovina, I don’t think it’s going to happen.”
Dodik previously called for the independence of Republika Srpska in another exclusive interview with the DCNF.
“We are the people who need our freedom and liberty,” Dodik previously told the DCNF through a translator. “And we deserve our freedom and liberty.”
“And that would be the great, historical act of President Trump in the Balkans: to support our liberty, freedom and independence,” Dodik previously told the DCNF. “In the history of Serbs, then, he would become one of the most prominent figures.”
Željka Cvijanović, the current Serb member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the former president of Republika Srpska from 2018 to 2022, seemed to join Dodik’s call for independence during a political rally Friday night, mentioning how Srpska needs “the right to a referendum,” according to a translation of her speech.
The government of Bosnia and Herzegovina features an incredibly complex system of leaders and regional representatives. Formed under the 1995 Dayton Accords, the country primarily consists of two entities, Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It has three presidents — a Bosniac, a Croat, and a Serb — while Republika Srpska has its own president.
Cvijanović and Marinko Božović are competing for the Serb seat in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s three-member presidency. Cvijanović is running on behalf of the ruling SNSD and is closely aligned with Dodik.
Given the history of wars throughout the countries that comprise the now-defunct state of Yugoslavia, the DCNF asked if Dodik could commit to a peaceful secession from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Dodik agreed, saying it was the only way forward.
“Those are the only conditions how we would prefer. We would not like any conflict,” Dodik said through his translator. “But it would suffice if the Americans say, ‘Yes, go for it,’ because it would only be justice. And no one should use any force. Do you think that Muslims would dare use any force? Then they wouldn’t.”
Dodik was previously the president of Republika Srpska until a former high representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, removed him from office.
Schmidt used his authority in July 2023 to unilaterally amend Bosnia and Herzegovina’s criminal code, making the failure to implement a decision of the high representative punishable by six months to five years in prison.
“We cannot call him [Schmidt] former because he was never regularly elected. He was a pick by Biden,” Dodik said. “And that global elite thought they could do anything throughout the world. They usurped the Office of the High Representative as described in Annex 10 of the Dayton Peace Agreement.”
The German government issued a statement just before the DCNF interview, alleging there was election interference in the Bosnia and Herzegovina elections, according to Dodik.
“Today we are having this conversation two days before our elections,” Dodik said. “And as I came into the room to have this conversation with you. I received this information that the German government made a statement on the topic of elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, saying that they would like to retain this Schmidt shit.”
Scrutiny of Dodik’s removal has since reached Washington. Republican Utah Rep. Celeste Maloy asked the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control in an Aug. 31 letter, exclusively obtained by the DCNF, to review allegations that Schmidt and members of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Central Election Commission interfered with the democratic process in Republika Srpska.
Dodik spoke positively of both Trump and Putin, saying he believes those leaders have a good relationship.
“The way I see it, he [Putin] and Donald Trump do trust each other, and I think that they can agree on worldly matters,” Dodik said. “Just as I think that Donald Trump is a man of peace, I likewise think that Vladimir Putin is also a man of peace, just confronted with a difficult situation caused by the administration of Joe Biden.”
While Trump and Putin have been demonized in the media and by foreign governments, Dodik defended both world leaders.
“One can observe that the EU leaders have always tried to depict Vladimir Putin as an evil person,” Dodik said. “And that’s the same thing that they are currently doing with Donald Trump. None of those two depictions had any basis in reality.”
With the Russo-Ukrainian War continuing to rage, Dodik said the Russians are justified in the conflict, calling it “defensive.”
“And even though this war is taking place in the territory of Ukraine, I think it is still [a] defensive war for Russia, because I think that Joe Biden’s administration meant to transfer this war onto the Russian Federation,” Dodik said. “I think that this war will stop the moment Donald Trump starts ignoring the EU leaders and makes a deal with Vladimir Putin. A deal that will be full, long term.”
While Dodik maintains positive relations with the United States, he and many other ethnic Serbians remain opposed to the NATO alliance. Dodik said that, if Srpska became free, it would never join NATO, instead opting to remain neutral.
“NATO bombed the Serbian people. We cannot forget that,” Dodik said. “Maybe it was a long time ago, but for us it was just yesterday. We are living through that even today because the consequences of using depleted uranium ammunition is still very [consequential]. And we cannot overlook that. What we can do is be neutral.”
“But I understand that Donald Trump is not very happy with NATO either,” Dodik continued. “But we have a clear position.”
While the effects of mass migration continue to rock Europe, Dodik called out France as a particularly egregious example of a nation which has allowed itself to become overrun by Muslims.
“Because Europe, that is looming now in 10 years’ time, will be more Muslim than Christian,” Dodik said. “And that is something that instills fear. Look at France nowadays. Imagine children of 15 or 16 years of age rebel against that state.”
The future of Europe hangs in the balance, Dodik added.
“The only integrated segment will be the Muslim segment. They will have cells throughout Europe, and they will be well connected,” Dodik said. “That means that Europe with such elites has no future. But Europe that would cooperate with Trump and Putin would [be] bound to have a brighter future.”
“For us, it is up to us to fight for ourselves,” Dodik added. “We cannot accept migrants here, especially not those from the Arabic world, because it is a different culture, different everything, and our history in that regard is rather negative”
As these issues and many others continue to affect the continent, Dodik had a message for the Bureaucrats in Brussels.
“Listen to Donald Trump, cooperate with him, and save Europe,” Dodik said. “And stop pushing Europe into uncertainty. Give up on the war in Ukraine. It’s not your war. Cooperate with the United States and Russia and ensure the growth of your own economy.”
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