Putin and Dodik meet

Russian President Vladimir Putin has hosted Milorad Dodik, president of Republika Srpska, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Putin met with Dodik in his executive office at the Senate Palace, and presidents shook hands, broadcast Periscope.

“I am glad to see you in Moscow”, Putin said at the start of the conversation.

Dodik arrived in the Russian capital the day before, despite an international arrest warrant issued by Interpol for him.

Dodik posted a video outside the Kremlin and wrote that each visit to the Russian capital begins with honoring the memory of Soviet soldiers who defended Europe from Nazism in the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. He added that he plans to visit Moscow 9 May to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Victory.

On February 26th, a Bosniak court sentenced Dodik to a year in prison and a six-year ban on replacing government positions for ignoring High Representative Christian Schmidt's decisions. Republika Srpska does not recognise the official's competencies since he was appointed in 2021 contrary to procedures defined by the Dayton Agreement.

Schmidt initiated legislative acts that violate the rights of Bosnian Serbs and entity (a federal subject) did not agree with them. Dodik warned his willingness to declare the entity's independence if Schmidt tries to lobby for laws that further violate the rights of Bosnian Serbs. On March 27th, the Sarajevo Interpol office launched an international order for its research.

The Russian Foreign Ministry warned that the fabricated sentence threatens to have harmful consequences both for Bosnia and Herzegovina and for the Balkans as a whole. The Serbian leadership said Interpol's order violated the organisation's statute, while Hungary appealed against action. /euronews/