US analyst Janusz Bugajski: Dodik was intl. community's hope for Bosnia

N1

Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik is a pragmatist who constantly changes his views. He was the international community's hope for Bosnia's progress, American analyst from the Center for European Policy Analysis Janusz Bugajski said in an exclusive interview with N1.

Why Bosnia never made the expected progress or if possible sanctions against Dodik or his family members would yield any results Bugajski could not tell.

Speaking about the famous Reform Programme which was recently adopted by the tripartite Presidency instead of the announced Annual National Programme (ANP) for NATO – a document which would mean Bosnia's step forward in the NATO accession process, is, in fact, the ANP, the analyst said.

The ANP, however, does not mean the NATO accession. Real issues on this process are yet to be identified and this will not be easy for Bosnia, but Bugajski was not entirely sure how Dodik would justify this move to Russians, with whom he has close relations.

When it comes to the Rusian influence in the country and the region, N1's interlocutor said it is quite present in the region.

According to him, Russia has its strategies in Serbia and Bosnia and that it's aim is to divide the Balkans. He noted he his belief that there is a slim chance that Russia would ever leave the Balkans and hand it over to the US.

Asked to comment the French President's statement that Bosnia is a ticking time bomb, Bugajski said this is nonsense and that the talk of Bosnian radicalisation is used in the same way in which former Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic used Bosnia to present it as a threat.

The entire interview will be aired on Saturday evening, at 9 pm.