BELGRADE, April 18. /TASS/. Bosnian Serbs will use only peaceful means to defend their rights and have won a lot of allies among the international community in recent years, Milorad Dodik, President of the Republic of Srpska (one of the two constituent entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina), said.
"We are not going to fight but will defend the Republic of Srpska using political instruments. <…> We are fighting for the status of the Republic of Srpska. We say that it can remain part of Bosnia Herzegovina but insists that it be part of a constitutional BiH," he said in an interview with the Glas Srpske newspaper.
He recalled that just a decade ago, his republic "had no friends in Europe," whereas today, Bosnian Serbs can count on support from parties like the Alternative for Germany, France’s National Rally, Italy’s League, and Austria’s Freedom Party. He also lauded traditionally good ties with Russia and China and welcomed the "improving relations" with the US President Donald Trump’s administration.
Under the constitution envisaged by the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Dayton Agreement) of 1995, Bosnia and Herzegovina is comprised of two entities, namely the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (around 51% of the territory) and the Republic of Srpska (around 49%), as well as the Brcko District. The three key ethno-religious groups, i.e. Bosniaks (Slavs professing Islam), Serbs (Orthodox Christians), and Croats (Catholics), are proportionally represented in the state governance system.
In fact, the country is governed via the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, whose office was set up under the Dayton Agreement and who is appointed by the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) upon the UN Security Council’s consent. However, in 2021, the Board members appointed Hans Christian Schmidt of Germany to the post without agreeing his candidature with the UN Security Council. For these reasons, his legitimacy is challenged by the Republic of Srpska, Russia, and China.
On February 26, 2025, a court in Bosnia-Herzegovina sentenced Dodik to one year in prison and banned him from political activities for six years for ignoring the High Representative’s resolutions. Following this court ruling, the Republic of Srpska’s parliament adopted laws on non-government foreign agent organizations and banned BiH federal law enforcement agencies from operating in its territory. Later, Dodik said that there laws could be revoked if Schmidt’s resolutions were nullified.