Serbian Leaders Interested In Increasing Russia's Economic Presence In Bosnia And Herzegovina

Leaders of the Republica Srpska are interested in increasing Russia's economic presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina and tried to persuade Russian leaders in this in the course of the Republica Srpska president's visit to Moscow. Mirko Sarovic, president of the Republica Srpska within Bosnia and Herzegovina, made such a statement in his RIA Novosti interview on the eve of completing his stay in Moscow. Sarovic stressed that the Republica Srpska is prepared to cooperate with Russia, primarily in energy sphere. He called on representatives of Russian oil and gas companies to step up their presence in the market of the Republica Srpska, for which there are real potentials. Sarovic also noted that in the course of the meetings with Russian representatives the delegation of Bosnian Serbs proposed to open Russian consulate in Banja Luka, the capital of the Republica Srpska, as well as requested to implement programmes of training Serbian Army officers in Russian military schools and rendering assistance in military hardware repairs. The Republica Srpska intends to implement all these projects in full compliance with provisions of the Dayton agreements, Sarovic stressed. The visit of the delegation of the Republica Srpska leadership is to complete Friday night.