MOSCOW, May 23. /TASS/. Western countries are hindering the development of Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and its cooperation with Russia, the entity’s President Milorad Dodik told Russian President Vladimir Putin as they met on Tuesday.

"Your companies are operating under difficult conditions, you know that. The key problem is correspondent banks, which are controlled by the West, and they don't let money go through. That's a problem," he said.

He also said Republika Srpska has come under serious pressure from the West, which "stands in the way of normal development."

"They only accuse Republika Srpska and all of us, who lead the republic, over and over again. They impose sanctions on us. In any case, we are not ready to give up our position and the defense of our rights, which we won at Dayton (the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement - TASS)," said Dodik. "We have problems with cooperation in the area of strengthening the economy, but I hope we will overcome them.".