BELGRADE, August 3. /TASS/. Serbia will never turn its back on Republika Srpska (an entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina, BiH) and will continue to provide whatever support it needs, regardless of the enormous pressure from the West, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said during his visit to the entity.
"At a difficult point in time, caused by strong external pressure, Serbia cannot, has no right, should not and will not turn its back on Republika Srpska. Regardless of the fact that we realize that it will be, if you want me to be quite honest, an additional burden on Serbia," Vucic told reporters.
For his part, Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik noted that additional pressure on Serbs is exerted by Western propaganda, which, among other things, spreads ideas about a "Russian influence" in the Western Balkans region and "bad Serbs."
In late July, the US administration imposed sanctions on four members of the Republika Srpska leadership - Speaker of the National Assembly (parliament) Nenad Stevandic, Prime Minister Radovan Viskovic, member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Zeljka Cvijanovic and entity’s Justice Minister Milos Bukejlovic. All of them, according to the US government, facilitated the adoption of a law initiated by Dodik, which Washington claims undermines the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Aleksandar Vulin, director of Serbia’s Security Information Agency was also blacklisted by the US. Washington alleges that this move underscores the US determination "to hold accountable those who further their political agenda and personal gain at the expense of peace and stability in the Western Balkans and advance Russia’s malign activities in Serbia and the region."
Vucic emphasized in this regard that he was made to face a choice: Serbian sanctions against Russia or US sanctions against Vulin.