Dodik meets Putin in Moscow five days before elections in Bosnia

Milorad Dodik, president of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), and the prime minister of Republika Srpska, Savo Minić, met on Tuesday in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin, despite Putin’s international isolation over the war in Ukraine.

The meeting took place five days before the general elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, scheduled for October 4.

According to Radio Television of Republika Srpska (RTRS), Putin expressed support for the governing coalition in this Serb entity, led by Dodik.

“We do not want foreign influence to be decisive. We want a fairer approach towards Serbs and the Serb people. We want stability across the region,” Putin is quoted as saying, according to RTRS.

Dodik, meanwhile, in a statement published by RTRS, proposed that joint meetings of the governments of the Russian Federation and Republika Srpska be organised once a year, and said he had congratulated Putin on his victory.

“We too feel pressure from Brussels, but our policies remain the same. We do not allow sanctions against Russia. We support military neutrality and do not allow NATO membership. There will be no introduction of visas for Russian citizens in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said Dodik, who also published a video from the meeting on his profile on the social network X.

Putin, even before the elections of 2018 and 2022, had publicly wished Dodik and his party success, while official Moscow has on several occasions supported the positions and actions of the Republika Srpska authorities, led by Dodik’s SNSD, and has called for the closure of the Office of the High Representative for Bosnia.

This is the 11th meeting between Dodik and Putin since Moscow began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Dodik and Putin last spoke in Moscow on May 9 this year, on the sidelines of the marking of Victory Day over fascism in the Second World War.

Dodik and the delegation from Republika Srpska were the only ones from Europe to take part in the parade.

Dodik has stated several times that he will not allow the imposition of sanctions against Russia, while ministers from his SNSD in the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina block decisions in order to prevent sanctions, which Bosnia and Herzegovina joined in order to align with the European Union’s policy towards Moscow.