The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary Peter Sijarto, today in the city of Trebinje in Herzegovina, stated that the President of the Republic of Srpska, Milorad Dodik, will not be on any list of sanctions while the current government of Viktor Orban.

"Those who want to introduce sanctions in the region of the Western Balkans are trying to hide how unfamiliar this region is to them. "Those people are incapable of respecting the will of the people living in the Balkans," said Sijarto after the meeting with Dodik.

According to the minister, the political leaders of the Balkans "did not win a prize in the lottery to be presidents, but were elected in elections" and underlined that those who want to introduce sanctions against Dodik do not want to respect the will of the citizens of RS.

In Sarajevo, Sijarto spoke with the high international representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, about the situation in that country and its path towards Euro-Atlantic integration.

The granting of candidate status to BiH is another proof of the EU's commitment to BiH and I expect domestic actors to rise to the challenge and use the opportunity given to them to accelerate BiH's progress on this path for the benefit of the citizens, Schmidt said after the meeting.

He said the international community expects "persistence, commitment and intensive efforts" from political leaders in Bosnia and Herzegovina on this path.

Schmidt added that the international community will pay close attention to the challenges that pose a threat to the peace and stability of BiH and to the reforms achieved so far, OHR reported.

He thanked Hungary for its continued support to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the work of the OHR and the High Representative's mandate in line with Dayton, according to a statement from Schmidt's office.