Vučić and Dodik differ on Erdogan's statement

Source: Beta

BELGRADE -- Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić says he "wants to believe" his Turkish counterpart did not make a controversial statement as reported over the weekend.

(Beta)

According to some media outlets in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that anyone who "touches" Bosniaks would have "100 million Turks up against them."
Bosnia is made up of the Serb Republic (RS) and the Muslim (Bosniak)-Croat Federation (FBiH) entities, and leader of the Serb entity Milorad Dodik arrived in Belgrade on Monday for "urgent consultations" with Vučić and Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić.

They addressed a news conference together, and unlike Vučić, Dodik said he believed that Erdogan said "precisely" what was reported.

"Dodik has a right to his conclusions, and we to ours. I want to believe Turkish Ambassador in Belgrade Kemal Bozay who told me the statement was not made, but I have no right to negate or dismiss Dodik's concerns," Vučić said.

The prime minister then noted that "not all Turkish embassies in the region provided the same answer" when it came to Erdogan's reported remark, and also that "if he believed the statement was made, Serbia's response would have been much stronger."

Vučić also urged Ankara to bear in mind "the fragile stability" in the region.

But Dodik stressed he was "certain" Erdogan made the statement, noting that "if he is able to ban Twitter, he's able to remove his statement from some media."

"Turkey's intentions are dangerous to us because their policy is turning out to be one of taking sides and protecting only the interests of Bosniaks. I believe that the statement was made, in that manner. Turkey is a powerful country and can manipulate with, 'it was, and was not made'," Dodik was quoted as saying.

He stressed that the RS expected Erdogan's cabinet to issue a denial, "or at least that the (Turkish) foreign minister would do that" rather than the Turkish embassy in Sarajevo, "which twisted facts on previous occasions."

Ivica Dačić also addressed reporters to say that "Serbia does not know for certain" if Erdogan make the statement, and added that he "still expected international factors to react."

Dačić noted that such a statement would be "absolutely contrary to what Turkish officials are saying about wanting to be a constructive factor in the Balkans, and have good relations with Serbia" - something reiterated during his recent visit to Belgrade by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.