Address by president Dodik on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the signing of the General framework agreement for peace in BiH (VIDEO)
Mr Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Srpska,
Honourable Members of the Assembly,
Citizens of the Republic of Srpska, and our friends across the world — in Washington, Moscow, Brussels, Beijing, and other centres:
This year, as the world marks thirty years since Dayton, many have turned their attention once again to that agreement. That is why it is important that we also express our position today.
Exercising my constitutional authority to represent the Republic of Srpska and express its views, I have decided to request the floor in this Assembly — in order to address both the public of the Republic of Srpska and our friends throughout the world who have been involved in discussions about Dayton and the constitutional arrangement of Bosnia and Herzegovina for three decades — some in one way, some in another, but involved nonetheless.
We meet today in a special session because the topic is extraordinary. The 30th anniversary of Dayton is being commemorated this week in the United States, where the agreement was concluded — in Dayton, Ohio. Many will gather there to take photographs or justify their conduct — whether in accordance with that agreement, or contrary to it. The occasion is clear.
Thirty years ago, on American soil, a great peace was made. Many remember that day. After long years of war, the soldiers of the Army of the Republic of Srpska greeted the news of the agreement in their own way — expressing their joy by firing their weapons into the air, to show how much it meant to them that the war was over.
That peace, which was achieved, was called Dayton. It was not born of ideology, nor of imperial ambition — but of necessity, and of clear vision.
The Dayton Peace Agreement was not perfect. It was not a utopia. But it was real — and it worked.
Peace has been preserved for thirty years not because Dayton affirmed the Republic of Srpska, created the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, or established Bosnia and Herzegovina — but because it recognised them as they are, with all their differences and complexity.
The significance of the Dayton Peace Agreement for the Republic of Srpska — the extent to which we insist on its respect, and the fact that all our actions are guided by its provisions — is best illustrated by two historically confirmed facts, which form the foundation of any serious consideration of the agreement.
The Dayton Peace Agreement was ratified by this very National Assembly of the Republic of Srpska, and the date on which it was signed, or rather initialled, was proclaimed a national holiday.
We, the Serbs and the Republic of Srpska, celebrate peace. By contrast, this document has never been ratified by the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Instead of commemorating the day peace was achieved, the Federation celebrates the day the war began — 1 March.
A great man once wrote — I quote: “In Bosnia, people are always at war with something — with other people, with themselves, with their own illusions.” These are the words of our only Nobel laureate, Ivo Andrić.
And in Dayton, we found a way to finally end that war — to return to ourselves, to our homes, and to our families. For the Republic of Srpska, Dayton is more than a peace agreement. It is not only a guarantee of peace — it is a guarantee of our rights. For us in the Republic of Srpska, the Dayton Peace Agreement is not merely a document that ended the war, as some now try to suggest
In order to end the war, the Dayton Agreement established — through the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina — a new political system. It was a document that addressed the root causes of the conflict. The war in Bosnia and Herzegovina did not begin simply because of hatred between peoples.
It began because the principle of equality — established by international documents and held sacred by the peoples of this region — was violated.
Dayton was not a suggestion. It was not an abstract vision. It was a constitution-making treaty. It produced, as its highest political and legal value, the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
It was written, negotiated, and signed by all parties — first and foremost by the Republic of Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, by Serbia, Croatia, and — through the illegitimate representation of Alija Izetbegović — in the name of what was styled as “Bosnia and Herzegovina,” but in reality, solely in the name of Bosnian Muslims — the Bosniaks.
It was concluded with the full support of the United States of America, France, the United Kingdom, Russia, the Federal Republic of Germany, and with the assistance of the European Union and other partners of the time.
For thirty years, the Republic of Srpska has lived in accordance with that agreement. We have respected it — and the signature we placed upon it. We have upheld it and viewed it as the sole basis for our presence within Bosnia and Herzegovina. Even when we fiercely disagreed, even when we were attacked, we respected the agreement we had signed — because we believed we were bound by that signature.
Today, while Bosniak political leaders once again promote the very concept of Bosnia and Herzegovina that led to war in the 1990s, we in the Republic of Srpska stand firmly as defenders of peace — by defending the provisions of the Dayton Agreement.
Every effort we make to uphold Dayton is not merely a struggle for the rights of the Republic of Srpska. It is a struggle to preserve peace, to defend the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Srpska, and to prevent any possible new conflict.
And no matter how much we are attacked, slandered, or falsely accused because of this — we are the ones who respect Dayton, who defend peace, and who defend the agreement, because we are a signatory to it.
However, from the very first days following the signing of Dayton — and especially since 2021 — that agreement and the peace it brought have come under increasing attack. That is why today I address you — Members of the Assembly, representatives of the Government of the Republic of Srpska, the public at large, our important friends, and even those who, as partners, now show tendencies of hostility — not out of anger, but with a clear purpose.
Not with defiance, but with resolve. And not as an appeal to foreign powers — but as an appeal to respect the agreement, because that is a matter of civilisational principle.
It is the agreement upon which Bosnia and Herzegovina was created — as a federal-confederal union of two entities, the Republic of Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and of three constituent peoples: Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks/Muslims, together with Others and citizens.
Today, I address you with an invitation to initiate direct talks with the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina on a return to the very foundations of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s existence — because that is what this historic document calls for, and demands, from everyone.
The outcome of such talks could be a remodelled Dayton.
Allow me to explain what that means — and, just as importantly, what it does not mean.
It does not mean secession, as is often alleged. It does not mean escalation. It does not mean abandoning peace. It means returning to the agreement that first and foremost created a new constitutional and legal reality — a political order in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and thereby, peace.
It means reaffirming that laws must be interpreted as written, not as some would wish them to be. It means saying — clearly, calmly, and resolutely — that we must not allow the constitutional settlement to be distorted into something it was never meant to become.
Article I of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina clearly states that Bosnia and Herzegovina is composed of two entities — the Republic of Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina — and three constituent peoples: Serbs, Bosniaks/Muslims, and Croats.
Further, Article III of the Constitution states that the Constitution may only be amended if the entities — and not political parties or international actors — agree, and that this agreement must be in the form of a specific and formally prescribed inter-entity accord.
The situation we face today is virtually identical to debates taking place in other countries, including in the United States, over how to interpret their own constitutions.
Should a constitutional compact be interpreted as it was originally written? Or should it be treated as a “living document”, one that unelected officials may reinterpret arbitrarily, depending on the circumstances?
This is the essence of the crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Not nationalism. Not secession. Not obstruction.
The root of the crisis lies in misinterpretations, which have created a systematic, long-standing, and enduring political crisis.
We in the Republic of Srpska are originalists of Dayton. We advocate a faithful and literal interpretation of the Dayton Agreement — and we are proud of that. Because Dayton worked — until it began to be forcibly altered without mandate.
It worked — until it was taken from us. It worked — until foreign, unelected bureaucrats and so-called “nation-builders” began treating it as a blank canvas for their political and commercial ventures. That is not democracy. That is not stability. And that is far from peace.
President Trump articulated this same point clearly and reasonably when he said that the United States would no longer build other nations or interfere in deciding how other peoples should live. If that is true — and it is, for we heard him say it unambiguously — then the United States is great again.
And today we too say: enough. Not with threats. Not with rage. But with truth. We say: let us return to the fundamentals. Let us return to the agreement. Let us return to Dayton.
Ladies and gentlemen,
To understand what we are defending, we must return to the very agreement that brought about a new, contractual Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, ended the war on that basis, and brought us peace.
The Dayton Agreement is not a perfect document. As you yourselves know, perfection is rarely found in life.
But it is rational, attainable, and the only viable solution in the circumstances in which we live. Dayton recognised history, legacy, and the mentality of those of us who live here, and confirmed the relationships that had existed in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
It defined a system within which Bosnia and Herzegovina could function as a community of two equal entities and three constituent peoples.
The Dayton Agreement created a space in which each people has its place, its identity, and its right to equality.
he General Framework Agreement for Peace, along with its 11 implementing annexes, was reached and initialled at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, and was not merely a political document. It was later formally signed in Paris.
It was — and remains — a constitutional and legal instrument, the very foundation and basis of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
That agreement confirmed the existence of two entities — the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Srpska — as signatory parties and essential stakeholders in any future amendments to the agreement, or the constitutional settlement.
Each of these two entities, therefore, has its own government, its own laws, its own competences, and its own parliament. Each has the right to govern its own people, territory, and property—peacefully.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, as it is constitutionally called—without prefixes or any additional qualifiers—is derived from the territory of the entities: 49% from the Republic of Srpska and 51% from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as was previously determined in Geneva and New York by the negotiators before his time. The active negotiators included representatives of the Republic of Srpska.
The Agreement did not envisage a centralised or unitary state—on the contrary, it explicitly prohibited such a model, recognising that only in this way could Bosnia survive. It did not seek to erase all our differences.
It granted us balance, not domination. It granted us functionality, not fantasy. It granted us peace, not uniformity.
And to those who doubt this, I invite you to read Annexes I through X. Read the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as adopted in Dayton.
Do not interpret. Do not read the footnotes. Read only the text of the General Framework Agreement and its implementing annexes—especially Annex IV and Annex X.
There is not a single provision, not one, that grants a foreign, unelected bureaucrat the right to criminalise dissent within Bosnia and Herzegovina. There is not a single provision that allows state property to be confiscated by decree of that bureaucrat or anyone else.
There is not a single provision permitting one entity to impose solutions on another—a practice that has been widespread in the past.
Dayton is a federalist-confederal, not colonial, agreement. Dayton is pragmatic, not utopian.
Dayton respected the right of peoples to govern themselves within Bosnia and Herzegovina—not under it. That is why Bosnia and Herzegovina derives its legitimacy from the rights of the entities and the three constituent
peoples, and only in that form can it be acceptable—not as something imposed.
That is why we call ourselves Dayton originalists. Because we accept the original Dayton.
We see no problem in that. Others do.
What we are witnessing today is the same ideological debate that takes place in constitutions—that is, foundational documents—around the world.
Should they be interpreted as written, or—as I mentioned earlier—treated as “living documents” that change according to the moment and mood, in our case dictated exclusively by foreign powers and their representatives? In the Republic of Srpska, we believe only in the text we signed. No other. No dreams, and no good intentions. We do not believe Dayton is dead. We do not believe Dayton has failed.
We believe Dayton has been interpreted beyond recognition —by those who never signed it and never respected its logic. This is not merely our opinion.
It is the stance of legal experts from around the world—from Russia, China, Europe, and the United States. It is a reality that is quietly acknowledged in diplomatic cables and legal opinions, which are increasingly available to us. And it is a reality that must now be explicitly acknowledged.
Allow me to repeat clearly, once again:
We are not extremists. We are not obstructionists. We are not undermining Dayton. We are trying to preserve it. We are not merely signatories to this Agreement—we are a party to it, its guardians and its protectors: the Republic of Srpska and the Serbian people. the Republic of Srpska as a party and its constituent people—the Serbs.
We are a people who know what it means to fight for freedom. We have spoken much about it; many significant texts have been written for our people in various forms—from political speeches to major literary and other works—because we paid dearly for that freedom, at the highest cost: with the lives of our sons and daughters.
That is why we regard Dayton as our armour, our bulwark and our shield against all those who believe that a single signature, a single decision or a single decree can erase what was forged in blood. We are not merely defending our rights—we are defending peace.
And in defending peace, we are defending our people’s right to remain who they are on their own land, to speak their language, to celebrate their holidays, to take pride in their history, and to remember and commemorate their suffering.
Dayton is not just a peace agreement—it is the seal on our freedom; it is the promise that the Republic of Srpska remains permanently embedded in this land and that there is no way it can be abolished. We are not merely defending our homeland, the Republic of Srpska—we are defending the principles upon which Bosnia and Herzegovina can function as a community of equal entities and peoples.
We are trying to honour what was agreed in 1995, only to see it undermined by unauthorised, unelected and unconfirmed officials who are accountable to no one, and who have treated our peace as their personal project rather than our shared future. And if there is a need to modernise Dayton—we are ready.
The Republic of Srpska is ready. But let us do so in the proper way. Precisely as the Dayton Agreement teaches us. Not through decrees. Not through pressure.
Not through foreign interpretations. Let us do it through dialogue. Let us do it through amendments, because Dayton is a legal document and an agreement. Let us do it with the consent of the signatory parties—the Republic of Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina—not according to the wishes of those who arrived decades later.
Ladies and gentlemen, we ask ourselves—what went wrong?
Dayton created the foundations for Bosnia and Herzegovina to be a complex, sovereign country in which decisions would be made by democratically elected representatives of the people—not a protectorate in which the will of the people is subordinated to the will of an unauthorised, as we see today, unelected, and above all false so-called High Representative, who parades around Bosnia and Herzegovina today.
Everything in this world comes at a cost—just as in life. And no one is inventing anything here. Those who are now destroying the foundations of Dayton forget that every act of imposition will, in time, come back around. History is unforgiving.
And we must not allow that boomerang to return to us as tragedy—or even as farce, which would be easier to endure.
Therefore, Dayton is the foundation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and of peace within it. And whoever undermines that foundation is undermining both peace and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
If Dayton was an agreed constitutional arrangement, then we must sincerely ask the following:
Who violated that agreement? Who changed not only the rules but its very provisions? Who decided that the words written in the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina no longer mattered?
We did not—and we could not have. Nor did the citizens of the Republic of Srpska, nor this Assembly, nor its Government, nor any of its representatives. the Republic of Srpska has never sought to make decisions on behalf of Bosniaks or Croats. The public—not only in the Republic of Srpska—knows this.
We have never wanted to elect their representatives. Banja Luka has never wished to regulate affairs in Sarajevo, Zenica or Mostar. But likewise, we shall never allow them to make decisions on our behalf.
Not because we are stubborn, but because it is the will of the people we represent. Nor did the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as they like to say, do this. Rather, it was those who came after the signing of Dayton and imposed themselves as an authority, claiming the right to interpret, reshape and disregard its provisions. The most visible face of this corrupted project of subversion today is Christian Schmidt.
We want an honest conversation—not one lacking respect, but an honest one. Let us respect one another and speak openly. Schmidt has never been confirmed by the United Nations Security Council.
According to Annex X of the Dayton Agreement, the High Representative must be appointed and confirmed by the UN Security Council. And prior to that—something many ignore—Annex X states he must be selected by the signatory parties to Annex X.
This never happened. And it had to—it simply had to. Anything else is invalid. When Schmidt was forcibly imposed, Russia objected.
China withheld consent. No vote was ever held. And there has never been any confirmation that he is what he falsely claims to be.
his means that Schmidt is no High Representative at all. He is a high-level wheeler-dealer. And he has never been appointed in accordance with the law or with the rights of the signatory parties to Annex X of the Dayton Agreement.
Since this fraudulent “High Representative” cannot cite a single international agreement, law or binding act that grants him legitimacy, he is merely a private individual issuing decrees without mandate, without legitimacy and without accountability.
In our language, one would say he is a general-purpose criminal. Tragically, the other party to the agreement—the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina—accepts him solely because his decrees strike at the Republic of Srpska with the aim of dismantling it.
This is not a technical issue, nor merely a political one. It is a legal and constitutional matter — and as such, it determines exactly where we stand today. We can state clearly: we are in the midst of a legal and constitutional crisis.
Since his arrival in 2021 — which, not coincidentally, coincided with the return of the Biden administration — Christian Schmidt has invoked self-proclaimed powers to impose criminal laws by decree, to suspend budgetary funding, and to threaten elected officials.
All of this has been done without the consent of this or any other parliament in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the only institutions legally entitled to enact laws and grant such authority.
here is no authorisation from the people, no authorisation from the Republic of Srpska, a signatory to Annex X of the Dayton Agreement. Nor is there authorisation from Serbia, nor from Bosnia and Herzegovina itself — of which we constitute one-third.
And more recently, we see that Schmidt no longer enjoys the support of the legitimate representatives of the Croat people either.
He is not the one who should be defining or redefining Bosnia and Herzegovina. He has no rightful place here. His presence alone constitutes a violation of the Dayton Agreement.
These are not mere irregularities — they are violations of every principle of democratic governance.
They amount to criminal acts, and we shall have to address them as such.
And yet, merely for pointing this out — for insisting that Dayton be respected — the leadership of the Republic of Srpska has been sanctioned, prosecuted, labelled as isolated (as they like to say, though it is not true), and accused. But let us be clear: this is not about one man.
Christian Schmidt is not the cause. He is the executor — the frontman, the grinning face on the poster. A man who fabricates powers and receives €26,000 a month to do so, complete with all the accompanying privileges.
He is the poster child for generations of so-called “globalists”, the so-called “state-builders”, who no longer act with military force, but with decrees.
Not with tanks, but with a neo-culture of cancellation. Not with diplomacy, but with legal abuse — wielding the appearance of legality to destroy the substance of law, including the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina. What we are witnessing today is not accountability. It is ideological imposition.
It is the dismantling of international law. It is sheer insolence.
This is what happens when a foreign, unelected official invokes self-granted authority to remove elected representatives who dare to say “no” to the dismantling of the Constitution and the violation of a signed international agreement.
This is what happens when democracy is no longer treated as the will of the people, but reduced to a mere formality — a rubber stamp for the preferences of those who regard themselves as superior beings. And we have seen this sort of thinking before in history.
The Serbs have been victims of such thinking before — and today, again, we face the same fate. Then as now, the orchestrators are the same: Germans.
And now, allow me, from this very podium, to send a message — to our Bosniak neighbours, to our Croat partners, and to our friends in Sarajevo, for we do believe such friends exist:
What we advocate today is not only in the interest of the Republic of Srpska. The rule of law, the inviolability of agreements, and the principle of consent — these are not ethnic issues. They are universal values, valid everywhere in the world.
When we defend Dayton, we defend it for everyone in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Because once any part of the agreement can be ignored, every part becomes vulnerable.
Once a foreign, unelected official can unilaterally determine what the law is, then no one is protected — not Serbs, not Bosniaks, not Croats.
That is why, when we say we must return to the basics, we are not calling for isolation.
We are calling for the country to reunite around the original covenant — the agreement we all signed. Let us come together and reject the usurpers and manipulators. Here is our opportunity to prove that Bosnia and Herzegovina is sovereign. If we fail to do so today, do you truly believe we will be able to do so tomorrow?
If peace is to last, it must be built on law, not on pressure. On consent, not on coercion. On dialogue, not on decrees.
The High Representative — especially one who is not legitimate — may claim to be defending Dayton, but every one of his decisions, especially those of this deceitful man, has undermined it.
When you examine the Constitution, you see it clearly.
Nowhere — in any document — is it stated, nor is it permitted, that any High Representative, from the first to this false one, may interfere in constitutional matters. And yet, today, even that seems to no longer apply.
That is why we say, clearly and unequivocally: this constitutional crisis can only be resolved by annulling everything Mr Schmidt has imposed. That is the position of our National Assembly and our political leadership. Once that is done, we will do our part. Do not ask us to act otherwise.
Either Schmidt, or someone else, must nullify what he has done. The Republic of Srpska will continue to act responsibly in relation to the Dayton Agreement and the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina. But if this is not possible, do not ask us to abandon ourselves and our decisions.
We propose — and indeed, it is time — that the United Nations Security Council vote on the legitimacy of this so-called High Representative, Christian Schmidt. Let them vote for or against. Let the international community confirm him — or reject him. Then we will know where we stand.
Let us find the courage to face the truth — not only we, but also those who have been imposing lies upon us. Because one thing is certain: relationships among people, and especially within a state, cannot be built — and cannot survive — on lies.
Ladies and gentlemen,
What we are experiencing today in Bosnia and Herzegovina is not unique to us. What we are going through — this campaign to remove elected leaders, to redefine legal texts, to delegitimise popular support — is part of a wider pattern that, in recent times, has emerged across many democracies worldwide.
From Brazil to Hungary, from Romania to the United States, and yes, here in Bosnia and Herzegovina, we are witnessing a very dangerous phenomenon: a new form of political warfare — a neo-culture of cancellation and punishment, aimed not only at opinion, but also at sovereignty. An aggression through unlawful means — the weaponisation of law to serve political ends. This is the dominant process of our time.
Let us be open about this — allow me a brief detour. Sanctions have been imposed against me. I am threatened with arrest. I am portrayed as a villain by those who reject dialogue and instead seek to silence it. But I am not the real target. Not Milorad Dodik — the target is the institution.
The real target is the people who elected me — you, the citizens of the Republic of Srpska. The voters who, in free and fair elections, placed their trust in a vision of sovereignty for the Republic of Srpska within Bosnia and Herzegovina — not subordination to foreign diktat.
Allow me to say something here — and I hope our critics hear it: You can impose sanctions, as you have done.
You can ban me. You can try to imprison me, as you are attempting to do. You can even try to kill me in the process of carrying out the arrest you so desire.
But I believe that no leader of the Republic of Srpska — not today, not tomorrow, not ever — will renounce our rightful claim to this land, nor act contrary to the terms agreed in Dayton, namely, the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
If they ever find such a person, that would mark our defeat. After that, there is no return. The greatest delusion of any Serb politician is to place trust in foreign usurpers and their false promises.
And if their procedure is to demand subservience while offering personal “concessions” in return, they will not find it in me, nor in you — in us. Perhaps they might in those who are absent here today. But I believe they will never find a compliant Serb leader willing to deliver what they want.
Never. Because this is not about me. This is about the people's mandate. This is about democracy. This is about our rights. These are not inventions made just for us — other nations have them too.
Democracy does not mean agreement with Brussels. Democracy does not mean accepting the latest interpretation of some unelected envoy, especially when, once he grows tired, he will be replaced by another with the same ambition: to humiliate you anew.
Democracy does not mean removing leaders chosen by the will of the people just because they are “inconvenient”. I was elected. The Government was elected. The National Assembly was elected.
And if the President of the Republic, the President of the National Assembly, and the Prime Minister are under attack — where does that leave you? You are waiting. For what? The same fate.
What is being destroyed here is the right to defend ourselves.
That is why, with respect, I say to our friends in the European Union and every embassy that has spent more time drafting press releases than reading the Dayton Agreement: you do not define our democracy.
Our people do. Just as we do not define your democracy, nor do we appoint your ambassadors — do not attempt to appoint ours. You have no such right.
And to them I say: read the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina. You are not authorised to interpret it, nor has any High Representative ever had that mandate — least of all this fraudulent one.
I believe that some of the earlier High Representatives deeply respected the fact that the Constitution is sacrosanct.
Even Paddy Ashdown never overstepped in this regard — because the Constitution was an inviolable instrument signed by its parties. And we are one of those signatories.
We adopted the Constitution and the Dayton Peace Agreement here. The Federation never did. For them, Dayton is a straitjacket. For us, it is a safeguard of our freedom and our rights.
Let me repeat, clearly, once more:
• We do not reject Bosnia and Herzegovina — not the constitutional, agreed-upon one.
• We are not a threat to peace — we are calling for peace. But for every one of our calls for peace, there have been dozens of calls for war from within the Federation.
• We are not calling for unilateral actions or secession. But do not push us in that direction.
We simply refuse to live in a system where the agreement we signed is changed by others, while the consequences are imposed upon us — causing existential harm to us as a people with rights, with an identity, with a culture, a history, and its own suffering.
We say “no” — not to reform, but to the lawlessness disguised as reform that has been forced upon us for thirty years. We say “no” — not to cooperation, but to impositions falsely labelled as democratic, yet devoid of any democratic legitimacy.
We believe in dialogue — that is why we call for it. We believe in Dayton — that is why we defend it. We believe in democracy — and that is why we are not afraid to speak.
The world cannot be governed by silencing those who think differently.
Bosnia and Herzegovina cannot be stabilised by erasing the autonomy of one of its two founding entities.
Our future cannot be built on the premise that only one political position is acceptable — namely, the one approved by an unauthorised, unelected, fraudulent so-called High Representative and legally unconfirmed foreign officials.
Honourable citizens,
We have spoken about Dayton — the agreement. We have spoken about Schmidt — the pretender. We have spoken about democracy — as a principle. Now, allow me to address the real issue at the centre of this storm: land, property, and the resources beneath the surface.
In recent years, extensive geological surveys have confirmed what we long suspected: the Republic of Srpska lies atop vast reserves of critical minerals — including lithium, boron, strontium, sodium, and potassium. The deposits so far verified are estimated to be commercially worth around US$100 billion.
These are not ordinary minerals; they are strategic resources, indispensable for electric vehicles, defence systems, energy storage, and advanced technologies — here at home, in the United States, in Europe, and across the world.
Particularly significant are our deposits in the Lopare Basin, one of the most promising untapped lithium-boron fields in Europe — if not the world. Unlike other locations plagued by war, instability, or local resistance, we possess the geological potential, social stability, and political will to develop these resources responsibly. Ask yourselves:
• Why did Christian Schmidt appear in 2021 precisely when geological experts, under internationally accepted standards, confirmed these deposits?
• Why, after years of so-called neutrality, has a campaign been launched to criminalise the Republic of Srpska’s Property Law, why has budget financing been suspended, and why are our institutions being threatened?
• Why is Bosnia and Herzegovina being centralised, and why must the office that would manage these resources be located in Sarajevo?
• Why is the principal objective to break the
institutional will of the Republic of Srpska?
• Why such haste — such desperation — to shift ownership of land and resources from the Republic of Srpska to Sarajevo?
The answer is simple: minerals mean money, and minerals mean power. This is not about constitutional reform. This is not about European values. This is not even about Dayton. This is a struggle for control over strategic natural resources on the European continent.
Let me be absolutely clear: the Republic of Srpska is not opposed to co-operation, nor to development, and we are certainly not opposed to sharing the benefits of these resources with our partners.
We believe — and today we reaffirm — that the wealth generated from these minerals should benefit all citizens, regardless of ethnic background, political affiliation, or place of residence in the Republic of Srpska, and indeed in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
But what we cannot accept is a system in which:
• ownership can be stripped from our institutions by decree of a foreign, unelected official — in violation of Dayton;
• this illegitimate Mr Schmidt behaves like a real-estate agent on behalf of patrons who would gain everything for nothing; and
• the level of Bosnia and Herzegovina, created at Dayton for the purpose of co-ordination, is weaponised to seize ownership and extract wealth from the people living in the Republic of Srpska.
That is not development, and that is not peace. It is blatant fraud, a shameless act of expropriation. No people — no democracy — would accept such a thing. Nor shall we.
The Republic of Srpska will not; our citizens will not. They have given us a mandate to act, to protect the Republic of Srpska. The President of the Republic is charged with that duty, and I fulfil it every day.
Allow me now to address Washington and the new administration there. We know the United States is deeply concerned about its strategic dependence on Chinese minerals.
We know that President Trump’s administration made it a priority to reshore and secure critical-mineral supply chains through partnerships with friendly states.
We know that the United States has explored co-operation in Ukraine, South America, and Africa — with mixed success.
Therefore, today, for the first time publicly, I declare that the Republic of Srpska is ready to explore strategic-mineral partnerships with Hungary, the United States of America, Serbia, Russia, China, and the European Union.
We are ready to offer value, transparency, and co-operation based on sovereignty — not corruption, not war, not manipulation. Give us freedom, acknowledge our already-existing sovereignty, guarantee the Dayton Agreement and our political autonomy and independence — and we are your partners.
Let us agree a framework that respects:
• the Dayton structure; and
• the constitutional competences of the entities as set out in Article III of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which states:
“All governmental functions and powers not expressly assigned to the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall be those of the entities.”
Let us do this the right way — not Schmidt’s way. Because we believe in partnership, but only that which is built on respecting rights and consent.
We may be small as a community, as the Republic of Srpska, but you may count on our character.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let us return to where this address began.
This is not a call to rebellion. This is not a threat
to peace. This is not — as some will claim — a project of division. It is a call to return: a return to balance, to consent, to Dayton — as it was signed.
We are realists; we know time has passed. Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2025 is not the Bosnia and Herzegovina of 1995. Therefore, today the Republic of Srpska puts forward a proposal, not a demand.
We propose a structured, time-bound dialogue among the signatories of the Dayton Agreement — the Republic of Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina — and among the three constituent peoples: Serbs, Bosniaks, and Croats. It must be:
• a dialogue not driven by decrees, but facilitated by positive diplomacy;
• a dialogue held not in secret, but in full transparency;
• a dialogue without foreign brokers, but with foreign friends — Trump, Putin, Orbán, Vučić, Milanović, Erdoğan — and without the cynicism of the British;
• a dialogue centred on one simple question: how can we make the next thirty years of peace better than the last?
If the answer entails amendments to the Dayton Agreement, then let us discuss them openly and sincerely, using the instruments Dayton itself provides:
constitutional amendments,
parliamentary negotiations,
commissions comprising all parties, and the consent of both entities and all three peoples — exactly as Dayton requires.
But let us reject, once and for all, the idea that a foreign bureaucrat or an unelected council can impose constitutional changes without consent. That is not peace; that is not law.
It is colonialism masked as state-building — pure deceit and lies. And let this be heard, I hope, in Washington: we do not expect the United States to solve our problems, nor do we ask it to.
We do not believe in permanent dependency. We do not believe in state-building experiments so brazenly undertaken here, and we do not regard Bosnia and Herzegovina as a “project”. It is, by the Dayton Agreement and the Constitution, a common framework established by its peoples.
As President Trump said in his historic address last week in Riyadh: “The birth of a modern Middle East has not come from Western interventionists … it has come from the people of the region themselves.”
Let it be the same with us. Let us begin a Dayton modelled not in opposition to the past, but as its fulfilment. Let us assume responsibility — not for conflict, but for dialogue.
Let our generation restore the letter of Dayton and leave behind Schmidt’s decrees, lectures from Brussels, and the failed experiments of those who have never lived here. I say the same to our partners in the Federation and to the political representatives of all three peoples.
Honourable deputies of this Assembly,
I have spoken of what we believe, what we reject, and what we propose; now permit me to speak of those with whom we seek partnership.
We seek the United States of America — not as an adversary, occupier, or referee.
We seek the US as it was in 1995 and can be again in 2025:
a guarantor of peace, a partner in development, and a protector of our sovereignty. The United States helped create the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and brought us to the Dayton peace.
Today, more than Brussels, the United States still understands the value of an agreement that works, unlike ideologies that fail, which we have seen from some sources.
We share the view recently expressed by Vice-President JD Vance: that Europe and America have grown too comfortable within the security framework of the past thirty years — a framework born in the Clinton era, designed by state-builders, and now wholly inadequate for the challenges of the next thirty years.
The guiding idea of that era was Francis Fukuyama’s The End of History and the Last Man. Even the author has abandoned it, though some have not; we never embraced it, and therefore we reserve the right to propose alternatives.
Bosnia in 1995 needed peace — and achieved it. Bosnia in 2025 needs reform — genuine, lawful, democratic reform, grounded in the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the will of its legitimate representatives and institutions, above all this National Assembly of the Republic of Srpska, the highest body of a signatory to the Dayton Agreement.
For years we have been denied our status as a party to that agreement, in blatant violation of international law: a treaty cannot be altered by favouring one contracting party and subjugating another. To do so undermines all future agreements. Who will trust you in the future?
That is why we must return to fundamentals — to the foundations that made Dayton strong. The Republic of Srpska stands ready — today, tomorrow, and in the future — to be a reliable partner of the United States, the European Union, Russia, China, and all others. We do not ask for foreign troops; we ask that they depart.
We do not seek development aid. We are open to dialogue and co-operation that respects Dayton, benefits all peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and assists the United States in reducing reliance on unstable or hostile regions by diversifying and securing critical-mineral supply chains.
Mr Speaker of the National Assembly,
Honourable Members of Parliament,
Citizens of the Republic of Srpska, and friends around the world,
In every generation there comes a moment when a people must choose, not between war and peace, but between truth and comfort.
his is that moment.
We are not here to tear down what Dayton built; we are here to protect it — from those who have forgotten what Dayton is and have persistently undermined it while assuring us they were acting for our own good. Do not bother counting how many times they have deceived us; it is exactly as many times as they made that promise.
We are not here to dismantle Bosnia and Herzegovina. We are here to remind the world what it truly is: a complex, sovereign state composed of two entities and three constituent peoples, bound by agreement and ungovernable by decree.
Nor are we calling for independence; we call for interdependence grounded in equality, consent, and constitutional order.
Allow me therefore to make a pledge — not only to the citizens of the Republic of Srpska, but to every Bosniak, every Croat, every Serb, every citizen of both entities: we seek nothing that is yours; we ask only that what is ours not be taken from us.
We are ready to build a future in which every community can prosper, in which critical minerals are used for the development of all rather than the enrichment of a few individuals or companies, and in which no one is silenced or criminalised for defending the agreement we all signed.
Let us talk. Let us listen to one another, strive to understand one another, and exclude no one.
Let us speak boldly, without coercion, and let that conversation begin now — in the interest not only of the Republic of Srpska, but of everyone.
Formally, we propose that all the signatories to the Dayton Agreement open a structured and good-faith dialogue, with the aim of returning to the original text, intent, and structure of the peace accords, and that any future amendment be considered solely through the legal mechanisms and by the consent that Dayton itself prescribes.
This is not a summons to break up Bosnia and Herzegovina; it is a summons to preserve and restore it — to return it to its constitutional foundations.
Whenever other efforts fail, there is one safe harbour for everyone in this country: the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina can be adapted only to the extent that consensus exists, and the consent on our side can be given only by you — the National Assembly of the Republic of Srpska.
You will recall how, at the beginning, foreign observers filled these benches and followed the work of this Parliament.
And you will recall when they stopped coming, signalling that we were unimportant, that only their opinion mattered and that we were regarded as a people unworthy of respect. That was their message.
We abstained from saying so out of courtesy, which they tried to teach us — the very courtesy they invented so that they might be discourteous to us.
We are here to affirm that peace cannot be maintained by pressure, punishment, or decree, but only by mutual respect and agreement.
Therefore this is our moment: not to take up arms, but to rise, to protest and fulfil our commitments.
We saw what their opinion is. We will not beg to be accepted again, but we will claim that space like every serious historical nation.
The Serb people are a people of civilisation, a people who have contributed richly to global civilisation through significant contributions of major historical figures of our people — in science, education, culture, and sport — all things of civilizational value.
This is why Serbs have the right to revolt and to reclaim, by political means, what is theirs.
We do not wish to worsen the situation; we wish to renew the conversation on Dayton, to adapt it to the times and give Bosnia and Herzegovina fresh legitimacy while preserving peace.
To the world, and especially to the United States of America, we say: we are not your problem; we are your partner, if you will have us.
We do not ask you to solve our political issues, mirroring President Trump’s view that America should not solve others’ problems. Why would he solve someone else’s problems?
We are not waiting around for ready-made solutions. We ask only that you remember the agreement you authored and help us return to it — that you read it anew, confirm it, and understand it correctly.
You have said yourselves that the Biden administration is the worst in history — and we have felt that profoundly. If they were bad for America, as you say, then ask yourselves how they have been for us.
We are ready to contribute to your strategic objectives — to the struggle for peace, for stable projects, for sovereign states and peoples. We are ready to respect legitimate democracy and diplomacy, ready to speak with you about minerals and to offer you our agreement.
All we ask in return is that you adhere to the same provisions that made Dayton possible: consent, constitutionality, and sovereignty.
Let us make Dayton function again. Let us make it real again. Let us make it ours again. Let us make it great again.
To our friends in Europe — especially those who remember the hard lessons of history — I say this: we know that Europe is not monolithic.
We know there are those in Europe who understand that stability does not come from silencing elected leaders, but from strengthening institutions, from building mutual respect, and from supporting dialogue instead of diktat in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
We know that some of the strongest advocates of sovereignty and reform today come from Europe — leaders who understand what it means to defend their own states while working together to preserve peace.
To those leaders — and to every European partner who wants a future based on equality, law, and mutual recognition — our door is open. Don’t close it yourself.
We speak less and less about the idea that “Europe has no alternative”. When was the last time you heard that?
oday, we say to them: the Republic of Srpska is indeed committed to moving toward the European Union, but not at any price.
We want to be visible — just as much as the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina entitles us to be. Eighty-two per cent of our powers under that Constitution are European competences.
We do not wish to surrender them to others, and that is why our door is open to you — even though you often frustrate us, just as we surely frustrate you.
Let us work together — not to erase Dayton, as some of you want, but to restore it. That is not contrary to European standards.
Let us build a Europe where agreements are respected, differences acknowledged, and sovereignty treated not as a threat, but as the foundation of cooperation. After all, that is what you always told us.
So why is it, when we walk that same path, that your words no longer apply to us?
Why is it that you, from within the European Union, insist on being the ones who dictate what is right and what is wrong?
You will not succeed that way. But through cooperation, mutual respect, sovereignty, law, and the achievements of this people, we can arrive at a shared destination — together.
Only through moving forward together — with partners in Sarajevo, with friends in America, in Europe, in Russia and China, and with many other allies, near and far — can we strive to build truth and justice.
We are a dignified and free people — and we shall never place our dignity and our freedom in anyone’s hands but our own. We have proven this throughout our history.
We are proud heirs of our heroes, because they are ours — and they did not become heroes by acting in foreign lands, but by defending their native soil, their homes, their property, their honour, their faith, their language, and their script. These are proud Serbs!
Let me take this opportunity to thank Russia, which has never ceased to support the letter of the Dayton Peace Agreement.
Russia and the principled, consistent policy of Moscow have continually reaffirmed respect for international agreements, rejected interference in the internal affairs of other states, and opposed the interventionism based on rules invented day by day.
We remain partners in all of this with great Russia.
We will not accept distancing ourselves from Russia just to prove we are listening to someone else.
We remain partners in everything we have done so far with the Russian Federation.
Let us thank China for its principled and politically neutral stance, for its consistency in the Security Council on issues relating to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
We seek cooperation with everyone.
To the guarantors of the Dayton Agreement — that is, the United States, Russia, the European Union, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and others involved in this process — I would like to be able to say thank you, but if I did, it would not be fair.
So instead I make an appeal: allow us our own agreement within Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Close the OHR, abolish the Office of the High Representative — especially the false one — and support the principle that only domestic judges serve on the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as is the case in your own countries.
You must know that the time for this has long passed. Do not keep buying time for your own sake.
Try to understand that this concerns us, not you.
To the Bosniaks, I say: accept a Bosnia and Herzegovina of agreement. Rise as a people of sovereignty, not of subjugation.
Accept the legitimately elected representatives of Serbs and Croats.
Do not hate; reach agreement with us and with the Croats — and most importantly, keep that agreement.
Stop slandering Serbs around the world — you will not defeat or break us.
llow us to respect you, by respecting us.
Respect and accept the Republic of Srpska — and we shall accept Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Abandon war and revenge; let us live in peace.
We do not hate you, but we shall not accept you as masters. That would be too much for you as well. Just look at how you treat yourselves.
To the Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina: we respect you — respect us as well, respect your rights and ours.
Our shared history is painful and filled with suffering. No one emerges from it as blameless.
We will support your goals as a constituent people, and your right to full equality among the three peoples, including Croats.
Here, numbers do not matter — what matters is the right itself. And no one can take that right from you.
We Serbs will not take it — we Serbs will defend your rights just as we defend our own.
And none of this shall be to the detriment of the Bosniak constituent people.
We Serbs will not accept a civic Bosnia and Herzegovina that would outvote us and lead to the destruction of both us and you Croats.
Let us stand together in political struggle, lest we realise too late that the moment has passed.
We understand you — but to-day we call on you to slow down your European pace.
Let us first resolve our issues among ourselves — Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs.
To us, the Serbs:We stand for an agreed Bosnia and Herzegovina — two entities and three peoples.
We demand and expect that others respect the rights vested in us by the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina — nothing more, and nothing less.
Today, our unity is the ultimate price of the future.
We need peace among us Serbs, mutual respect, and deeper understanding.
Let us not allow our misled brothers to be used by others against us. And I call on them to reject demands made against the Republic of Srpska and the Serb people.
We are a sovereign, state-building, historic nation — a people of civilisation.
Our goal is the Republic of Srpska — and we know what the Republic of Srpska is.
We know that peace and agreement matter — and they matter greatly for the Republic of Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
And so I shall end by saying:
Long live peace and agreement in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Long live the Republic of Srpska!
Long live Serbia!
Thank you very much.