Putin hosts Dodik at the Kremlin: trade with Republika Srpska up 57%, gas price to stay low

Russian President Vladimir Putin received the leader of Bosnia’s Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, at the Kremlin on Tuesday in a meeting for which the Kremlin published the official transcript. As announced in the Kremlin’s statement, Putin said trade between Russia and Republika Srpska grew by 57% last year — a trend that, in his words, “must definitely be maintained” — and expressed the interest of Russian companies in cooperation across various sectors.

Putin thanked Dodik for what he called Republika Srpska’s “neutral position” on developments in Ukraine, saying that only such a position could lead to a positive solution. He also praised the fact that thousands of pupils in Republika Srpska learn Russian and that the government supports interest in the Russian language and culture.

Dodik, for his part, said after the meeting on Russian television that the price Republika Srpska pays for gas will remain low, without giving details, Reuters reports. Bosnia receives Russian gas via Serbia and Bulgaria. Dodik reiterated that the RS will not join Western sanctions against Russia, saying Moscow was “forced” to launch its military operation in Ukraine.

According to Reuters, the meeting has angered the European Union — the EU official in charge of enlargement had warned Sarajevo authorities last week that EU allies do not visit Russia. Dodik’s visit comes days before Bosnia-Herzegovina’s general elections on October 4.