euractiv.com <https://www.euractiv.com/section/enlargement/news/putin-meets-bosnian-serb-leader-dodik-hails-rise-in-trade/>
Putin meets Bosnian Serb leader Dodik, hails rise in trade Georgi Gotev 3–4 minutes _____ Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik in Moscow on Tuesday (23 May) and hailed an increase in trade during a meeting that has angered the European Union. In a transcript <http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/71188> released by the Kremlin, Putin told Dodik that bilateral trade with Dodik’s Serb Republic (Republika Srpska) region of Bosnia, while relatively small, had increased by 57% last year. “This trend should certainly be maintained,” he said, adding that Russian and Bosnian Serb companies could achieve even better results. Bosnia receives Russian gas via Serbia and Bulgaria. Bulgaria no longer receives Russian gas as it refused to pay it in roubles, but it continues to transit such via the TurkStream-Balkan Stream pipeline under earlier contracts with Gazprom, to countries in the region. After the meeting with Putin, Dodik told Russian television that the price the Republika Srpska paid for gas would remain low but did not give details. According to the Kremlin transcript, Dodik subscribed to the Russian narrative by saying that Russia was “forced to start this special operation”, referring to the Russian aggression on Ukraine. “We understand that this is not a war between Ukraine and Russia – this is a clash between [Russia and] the West, which is trying to use Russia as a way to further inflame this war”, he said. Dodik complained of Western pressure on Republika Srpska to enforce sanctions against Russia, despite the fact that the entity rejects such sanctions. “Republika Srpska is subject to [pressure] from Western partners that prevent us from developing normally. […] Your companies are working in difficult conditions, you know it. The key problem is the correspondent banks, which are under the control of the West, and they do not let the money through. This is a problem”, he said. Putin thanked Dodik for Republika Srpska’s “neutral” position vis-à-vis the conflict in Ukraine. “We are grateful to you for your neutral position on the events in Ukraine. Only such a position can lead to any positive decision. But in any case, we are grateful to you for your restraint”, he said. Following a devastating ethnic war in the 1990s, Bosnia was split into two autonomous regions – the Federation shared by Bosniaks and Croats and Republika Srpska, linked via a weak central government. Bosnia has no unified foreign policy. Dodik, a Serb nationalist who has maintained close relations with Putin, has a long track record of acting as Putin’s disciple in the region. Dodik one of Bosnia’s main obstacles on EU path, says MEP <https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/dodik-one-of-bosnias-main-obstacles-on-eu-path-says-mep/> Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik will continue to thwart reforms necessary for progress towards EU accession and the bloc should find a way to diminish his influence, which largely relies on his ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said social … The meeting could tarnish Bosnia’s hopes of joining the European Union. The head of the body responsible for enlarging the 27-nation bloc last week warned Sarajevo that EU allies do not visit Russia. (With additional reporting by Georgi Gotev) -- http:www.antic.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "SERBIAN NEWS NETWORK" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/senet/03b101d98e26%24a1375600%24e3a60200%24%40gmail.com.
