ST. PETERSBURG, June 7. /TASS/. Republika Srpska (an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina) will keep refusing to join anti-Russian sanctions and will continue its work to develop cooperation with Russia, President Milorad Dodik said at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"I would like to inform you that we remain extremely principled and firm in our refusal to join the [anti-Russian] sanctions. I’m not going to tell you how many requests on the issue we receive every day. We see that partners from the West are quite nervous about the subject and insist on numerous measures," Dodik said.

"Anyway, our relations are very good, and I don’t see any difficulties. I think we need to continue our cooperation on all previous aspects, like we did before," the president of Republika Srpska said.

Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov earlier described Putin's meeting with Dodik on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) as "another contact that has become traditional."

Earlier, the president of Republika Srpska emphasized that Western countries are intensifying their negative activities towards it precisely because of its friendship with Russia. He also noted that the entity will not introduce sanctions against Russia, but will continue to cooperate with Russia, China, and the US, as well as continue on its EU path without joining NATO. This position, combined with his blocking of Bosnia and Herzegovina's accession to NATO, irritates the West. He has already been sanctioned by the UK and the US.