Serbia’s President, Aleksandar Vučić, and the President of the Bosnian Serb entity, Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, met in Belgrade on Tuesday.
Vučić stated that the meeting was of “fundamental importance for key issues concerning the Serbian people and the future of Serbia and Republika Srpska.”
“Our common goal is to preserve peace and stability, continue and strengthen economic growth, and protect the national interests of Serbia and Republika Srpska,” Vučić wrote on Instagram.
He also emphasized that the meeting discussed the upcoming Sretenje holiday, which is celebrated on February 15.
On June 8, 2024, the governments of Serbia and Republika Srpska approved a so-called Declaration for the Protection of National and Political Rights and the Shared Future of the Serbian People during a joint meeting.
The document mentions that February 15 is the Day of Statehood of both Serbia and Republika Srpska, and these days should be celebrated together.
This declaration was condemned by members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denis Bećirović and Željko Komšić, as well as by the European Union and the United States.
Milorad Dodik is under sanctions from the United States and the United Kingdom for undermining the Dayton Agreement and his claims for the separation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The 1995 Dayton Agreement, which ended the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, divided the country into two autonomous entities—Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska—along with the Brčko District, a self-governing administrative unit. All are under the umbrella of the federal government and the rotating presidency.
