MOSCOW – The President of the BiH’s Republika Srpska (RS) entity, Milorad Dodik, met on Tuesday President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, After the meeting, Dodik said that Russia is a guarantor of the Dayton Peace Agreement, adding that President Putin reaffirmed that during the meeting.
“This was our 26th meeting. Putin is well-informed about the details and the overall situation in our region. He is interested in matters that concern ordinary people in our country”, Dodik said following the meeting, RTRS reported.
After visiting Belgrade and then Tel Aviv, Dodik arrived in Moscow. The President of the RS entity has been moving freely in recent days, despite the fact that the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has issued a central arrest warrant for him.
Dodik announced he would return to Moscow on 9 May at Putin’s invitation to attend the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
Last week, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has requested the issuance of an international arrest warrant for Milorad Dodik and Nenad Stevandić, President of RS National Assembly, following their departure from the country despite an active internal warrant against them.
“The basis for this request, which has been approved, stems from the actions of Dodik and Stevandić, who, using their high-ranking positions in the Republika Srpska entity, crossed the state border and left BiH while circumventing legally mandated border control procedures”, the Court stated.
Dodik and Stevandić are suspected in a case led by the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH concerning the criminal offence of undermining constitutional order. Although arrest warrants were recently issued for them, authorities assessed that attempting to detain them through standard procedures would pose an excessive security risk.