Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik today offered a partnership to the United States, Russia, China, the European Union, Hungary and Serbia regarding the exploitation of rare minerals, which RS is reportedly rich in.
"Give us freedom, confirm our already existing sovereignty, guarantee us the Dayton Agreement, our political autonomy and the independence of RS, and we are your partners in this business. Give us a framework that respects the Dayton structure, the constitutional competences of the entities," said Dodik, addressing MPs at a special session of the RS National Assembly on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Dayton Agreement.
He stated that geological research has confirmed that RS lies on vast mineral reserves, including lithium, boron, strontium, sodium and potassium, emphasizing that these are strategic resources, worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
He said that the aim is to gain control over these assets and strategic resources of the RS through the Office of the High Representative (OHR).
"This is a fight for control over strategic natural resources on the European continent. It is about plunder," Dodik assessed.
He accused the High Representative in BiH, Kristian Schmidt, of acting as a "real estate agent in the interests of his mentors, who would get everything for nothing," whereby the state level of government would be instrumentalized to extract wealth from the RS.
"And that is not peace. It is an obvious fraud, a shameless expropriation. And no nation, no democracy will or would accept that," Dodik said.
He concluded that it (the exploitation of raw materials) should be done "the right way, not the Schmidt way."
He added that he proposes a structured, time-limited dialogue within BiH, to confirm "whether BiH has a chance or not."
"A dialogue that is not led by decrees but by positive diplomacy... RS is in favor of moving towards the EU, but for RS to be respected. RS wants to be as visible as the Constitution of BiH has given us, that is, 82 percent of the competencies that it does not want to give to others," said Dodik.
Dodik's address to the RS National Assembly was not attended by members of the opposition parties – the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS), the Party of Democratic Progress (PDP), the Justice and Order List and the People's Front (NF). There will be no debate on Dodik's speech, nor will there be a vote on it.
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