BELGRADE, September 21. /TASS/. Republika Srpska considers Russia as a friend and is determined to boost bilateral relations, President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik said at a joint press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday.
"No matter what the West says about Russia’s negative influence, we believe that Russia is our friend and we are determined to boost relations with Russia, first and foremost, in the fields of economy, culture and science, as well as at all other levels," he said.
Dodik thanked Russia for its efforts to maintain the Dayton Agreement and pointed out that thanks to Russia’s efforts, a British resolution had been rejected, which suggested accusing the Serbs of genocide. "We are grateful to Russia, this will remain eternal evidence of our close relations," the president of Republika Srpska said.
Dodik made a public confession of his love for Russia. As he answered a reporter’s question about Russian influences in the Balkans and the West’s accusations that he was a Russian man, he said, "In the first place, I am a man belonging to the Serb people and I put the interests of the Serbs above everything else. And it’s true that I love Russia. But also want to cooperate with all other countries and nations in this region and elsewhere in the world."
"These rumors are highly contrived and they stem from the pan-Western anti-Russian hysteria," Dodik said. "We also have the people here who are in the service of Western interests."
"When you see the presence of the West’s military forces here while not a single Russian soldier can be found about, any talk about the Russian influence of some kind simply doesn’t make sense," he said.
He also added that "[…] meddling in this country’s affairs by the previous US administration as represented by the US ambassador in Sarajevo has broken all the limits of good taste and we don’t find it to be friendly."
Cooperation with Gazprom
Republika Srpska cooperates with Russian gas holding Gazprom and is interested in expanding this interaction, he said.
"Currently, we are cooperating with Gazprom at a certain level, we would like to expand our cooperation," Dodik said.
He also recalled that not long ago Moscow and Banja Luka signed an agreement on the construction of a plant for liquefying natural gas. "We are very pleased that we are making progress on this matter," he stressed.
Dodik and Lavrov discussed issues concerning economic and political cooperation, while the president of Republika Srpska briefed the Russian top diplomat on the economic and political situation in the region.