Lukashenko stated Belarus' readiness to support Republika Srpska

Belarus is ready to support and assist Republika Srpska as much as possible. This was stated by the President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, at a meeting with the Chairperson of the People's Assembly of Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Srebrenka Golić, as reported by a BELTA correspondent.

"I am pleased to see you and welcome you to Belarus. I want you to know that you have come not just to a country close to your people, but you have come to your friends, to your relatives, you have come to your Belarus," said Aleksandr Lukashenko. "As I tell my friends, there are no closed topics for you in Belarus; we are capable and ready to do for you everything that we are capable of and what is of interest to you."

The Head of State noted that he is well aware of the situation in Republika Srpska and was deeply immersed in the events that unfolded in the 1990s in that region when the Dayton Agreements were concluded.

"I saw serious shortcomings in this agreement. And I warned my colleague and friend Slobodan Milošević (President of Serbia from 1989-1997, and then President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997-2000. - BELTA's note) at the time that we needed to be very careful when concluding this treaty at the behest of the West, the Americans. That it could bring a lot of trouble to the people. You know that something of the sort did happen. The contradictions that exist in your, seemingly, common state have not disappeared. They have always been acute, and at some point, this had to spill out," stated the President. "But I am saying this, and you should know this: as much as possible today, we are with you, we will support you, we will help you. Again, I say: as much as possible, because we are not close, we do not border Bosnia and Herzegovina, we do not border your people, but we are from one root. We remember this. Therefore, try to count on us," emphasized the Belarusian leader.

Aleksandr Lukashenko is confident that the Russian leadership also understands and assesses the situation in a similar way. "We know both the past and the present, so we are on your side," he added.
The special closeness of the peoples of Belarus and Republika Srpska is also reflected in the fact that during the protocol part of the meeting, the Head of State practically did not use the services of an interpreter in communication, perfectly understanding most of what the guest said in Serbian.

Srebrenka Golić shared details of the meeting with the President of Belarus with journalists. According to her, the parliamentary delegation of Republika Srpska congratulated Alexander Lukashenko on his convincing victory in the recent elections and spoke about the development of the political situation in their country.

"I personally love the Republic of Belarus and hope that the result of this visit will be a return visit from the parliamentary delegation of Belarus, if not this year, then next year," said the Speaker of the National Assembly.

In February 2024, the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, visited Belarus on a working visit. According to Srebrenka Golić, after high-level negotiations, some projects have already been implemented. One of them is the supply of Belarusian tractors. "This project has already been successfully implemented," she stated.

During the current visit to Minsk, the parliamentary delegation of Republika Srpska, among other things, visited Belarusian State University, where they met with the leadership of the Ministry of Education and the university itself. "We discussed issues of cooperation in the field of education. We hope that an agreement on cooperation between our countries will be signed, which will allow for student exchanges," added Srebrenka Golić.

Republika Srpska is an entity within the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, occupying 49% of the country according to the Dayton Agreements of 1995. The economy of Republika Srpska is based on industry and agriculture. The most developed sectors include the energy complex, timber processing, metallurgy, natural resource extraction, and textile production. The tourism potential of Republika Srpska is considerable due to its rich natural resources and attractions. Mountain tourism, spa tourism, religious, hiking, and ecotourism are developed.

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