"RS to go to referendum unless Dayton is respected"

"RS to go to referendum unless Dayton is respected"

BANJA LUKA -- RS President Milorad Dodik has said after returning from an official visit to Moscow that Russia continually expresses its commitment to the Dayton Agreement.

The leader of the Serb entity in Bosnia-Herzegovina pointed out that Russia does so through its activities in the Peace Implementation Council in Bosnia-Herzegovina and in the UN Security Council.

"We had the opportunity to thank President Vladimir Putin for the continued support that Russia provides also through the UN Security Council and the Peace Implementation Council, which is of great importance for the Serb Republic (RS)," said Dodik.

He added that the demand to hold an independence referendum in the RS was legitimate, and that this would happen unless the original Dayton Accords is respected - and if the transfer of entity powers to the state level continued.

Speaking about comparisons between the referendum in Scotland and a possible referendum on independence in the RS, Dodik said that the entity "respects the written Dayton."

"We want to go back to the original Dayton Accords and what it says, and that means a return of the powers taken from us," said Dodik.

The RS does not dispute the original jurisdiction of Bosnia as defined by the Dayton Agreement, but challenges, he said, "the violence of high representatives, their arrogance, the grabbing of RS powers and their transfer to Sarajevo."

Dodik warned that the RS will defend its status and build it further, noting that he never "located time-wise" the possible referendum.

"We want dialogue, and if there is no dialogue, the RS will legitimize its right to a referendum in order to...