Vucic: New High Rep in Bosnia Doesn’t Hate Serbia, but Will Make It Harder for RS

Aleksandar Vucic (BetaPhoto/Milos Miskov)

President Aleksandar Vucic has said that the new high representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, is “a serious man” who does not hate Serbia, but added that it “will be more difficult for Republika Srpska (RS).”

“Schmidt is a very serious man, he is a very good acquaintance of mine. He is one of the strongest politicians in Germany. I do not think he hates Serbia or the Serbian people, but on the other hand, I understand the positions of (Milorad) Dodik and the people in RS who are fed up of foreign nationals coming to govern the country,” Vucic said in a talk show on TV Happy in the evening on May 31.

Vucic further said “there is no doubt” that it would be more difficult for RS as “the Germans would give their best to establish what they like to call a functional state, which means taking away competences from RS.”

In the same TV program, Vucic said that Serbia was pursuing the EU path, but would not be imposing sanctions against China or Russia. “Serbia is on the EU path and it is a military neutral country, but Serbia will not be destroying its relations, and it has maintained excellent ties with China and Russia. We will not impose no sanctions against China or Russia. It is our policy, not any sort of balancing. It is policy which has proved best during the coronavirus pandemic and the procurement of Covid-19 shots,” Vucic noted.

Speaking about the Kosovo issue, Vucic said that “there is no reason to panic,” although pressure had been growing from the EU and the U.S. to find a settlement, which in their opinion implied Belgrade’s recognition of Kosovo’s independence.