Milorad Dodik | AP News

Milorad Dodik

In this photograph made available by the Republika Srpska Presidential Press Service, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks after receiving the Order of Republika Srpska from Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik during his visit to Banja Luka, Bosnia, Friday, April 5, 2024. Orban is on a two-day visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina. (Republika Srpska Presidential Press Service via AP)

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban receives a medal from pro-Russia Bosnian Serb president Dodik

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban has received a medal from the pro-Russian leader of Bosnia’s Serbs, who has been sanctioned by the U.S. and Britain because of his separatist policies.
 
In this photo provided by the US Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon flies as part of joint air-to-ground training involving American and Bosnian forces, on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. Two U.S. fighter jets flew over Bosnia on Monday in a demonstration of support for the Balkan country's integrity in the face of increasingly secessionist policies of the Bosnian Serb pro-Russia leader Milorad Dodik. (US Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina via AP)

US fighter jets fly over Bosnia in a sign of support to the country as Serbs call for secession

 
Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik uses his phone prior to the start an interview with the Associated Press, in the Bosnian town of Banja Luka, 240 kms northwest of Sarajevo, Friday, Dec. 29, 2023. Bosnian Serb separatist leader wowed to carry on weakening his multiethnic, war-scarred country to the point where it will tear apart, despite the pledge by the United States to prevent such an outcome. "I am not irrational, I know that America's response will be to use force…but I have no reason to be frightened by that (realization) into sacrificing (Serb) national interests," Milorad Dodik, the president of Bosnia's Serb-run part, told The Associated Press in an interview Friday. (AP Photo/Radivoje Pavicic)

Separatist Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik vows to tear his country apart despite US warnings

 
FILE - Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik speaks during a news conference after claiming victory in a general election in the Bosnian town of Banja Luka, 240 kms northwest of Sarajevo, on Monday, Oct. 3, 2022. The Bosnian Serb separatist leader on Monday, Oct. 16, 2023 refused to enter a plea on court charges that he has defied the top international envoy overseeing peace in the Balkan country, displaying his disrespect for the state that went through a bloody war in the 1990's and is again facing possible disintegration. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic, File)

Separatist Bosnian Serb leader refuses to enter a plea on charges that he defied the top peace envoy

 
Protesters rally to support Milorad Dodik, pro-Russian leader in Bosnia, in Lukavica, Bosnia, Friday, Sept. 1, 2023. Several hundreds of Serb supporters of Milorad Dodik, pro-Russian leader in Bosnia have gathered at several entity lines in Bosnia, demanding a stop to what they call illegal criminal persecution of their leadership by state prosecution. Carrying Russian flags with pictures of Russian president Putin, Serbs demanded that Bosnian state prosecution removes its indictment against Dodik which is accused of defying the decisions by international peace agreement over-seer Christian Schmidt. (AP Photo)

Bosnia court confirms charges against Bosnian Serb leader Dodik for defying top international envoy

 

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Bosnian Serb separatist leader threatens top international envoy with arrest and deportation

The separatist Bosnian Serb leader has threatened to arrest and deport a top international official overseeing peace in Bosnia if he enters the Serb-controlled regions in the war-torn Balkan state.
 
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, center, reviews the honour guard with Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik during a welcome ceremony in Banja Luka, northern Bosnia, Friday, Aug. 4, 2023. Serbia will ignore U.S. sanctions recently imposed on top Bosnian Serb officials for undermining a 1995 peace agreement that ended a war that left more than 100,000 dead and millions homeless, the Serbian president said Friday. (AP Photo/Radivoje Pavicic)

Serbia to ignore US sanctions against Bosnian Serbs accused of undermining deal that ended the war

Serbia’s president says his country will ignore U.S. sanctions recently imposed on top Bosnian Serb officials for undermining a 1995 peace agreement that ended a war that left more than 100,000 dead and millions homeless.
 
Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Porfirije, center, speaks with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, left, and Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, July 20, 2023. They talked about the situation in the region and upcoming important meetings between the delegations of the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Srpska.(AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

International officials, groups warn Bosnian Serbs new libel law is contrary to proclaimed EU path

Top international representatives in Bosnia have warned that a newly-approved law in the Serb-run entity, which makes libel a criminal offense, stands contrary to the Balkan nation’s proclaimed European Union path.
 
Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Porfirije, center, walks with Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, left, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, before their meeting in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, July 20, 2023. They talked about the situation in the region and upcoming important meetings between the delegations of the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Srpska. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Bosnian Serb lawmakers pass law recriminalizing libel which critics say threatens free speech

The Bosnian Serb parliament has passed a law recriminalizing libel which critics say will restrict freedom of expression and silence critical media.
 
Bosnian Serbs march carrying a giant Serbian flag during a parade marking the 31st anniversary of the Republic of Srpska in Istocno Sarajevo, Bosnia, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. Thousands of flag-waving people gathered on the outskirts of Sarajevo to celebrate an outlawed holiday associated with the country's brutal inter-ethnic war in the 1990s and attend a military-style parade organized for the occasion and used by Bosnian Serb separatist leader, Milorad Dodik, to showcase his allegiance to Russia. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)

Bosnian Serbs celebrate banned holiday, praise Putin

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Thousands of flag-waving Bosnian Serbs gathered on the outskirts of the capital Sarajevo Monday to celebrate an outlawed holiday associated with Bosnia’s brutal inter-ethnic war in the 1990s.
 
The highest decoration of the Republika Srpska, Order of the Republika Srpska assigned to Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen during a ceremony in the Bosnian town of Banja Luka, 240 kms northwest of Sarajevo, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023. The Bosnian Serb separatist leader has awarded Putin with the highest medal of honor for his "patriotic concern and love" for the Serb-controlled half of Bosnia. Dodik awarded Putin on the occasion of "the day of Republika Srpska" which has been proclaimed illegal by Bosnia's constitutional court. It marks the day when Bosnian Serbs proclaimed they are splitting from Bosnia in 1992 with the aim to separate the Serb-populated regions of the Balkan state and join them with Serbia. (AP Photo/Radivoje Pavicic)

Bosnian Serbs award Putin with medal of honor

The Bosnian Serb separatist leader has awarded Russian President Vladimir Putin with the highest medal of honor for his “patriotic concern and love” for the Serb-controlled half of Bosnia.
 
Newly elected President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik, center, gestures during an inaugural session of the National Assembly, where he will be sworn in, in the Bosnian town of Banja Luka, 240 kms northwest of Sarajevo, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022. Pro-Russian Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik has been elected after serious allegations about election voter fraud and corruption following October elections in Bosnia. (AP Photo/Radivoje Pavicic)

Separatist leader sworn in as Bosnian Serb president

Separatist politician Milorad Dodik has been sworn in as president of Bosnia’s Serb-run part and he pledged to pursue good ties with Russia, China and other like-minded countries.
 
Bosnian Serb leader and member of the Bosnian Presidency Milorad Dodik waves with three fingers to the crowd of thousands who gathered to support the "people's rally for the defense of Republika Srpska" protest in Banja Luka, Bosnia, Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022. Tens of thousands of people rallied in Bosnia Tuesday to demand from electoral authorities to end a recount of ballots cast in one of the races in the country’s Oct. 2 general election and confirm a staunchly pro-Russian politician as the president of its Serb-run part.(AP Photo/Armin Durgut)

Bosnia: Recount confirms pro-Russia Serb leader won election

An election recount has confirmed a staunchly pro-Russia Bosnian Serb leader’s victory over an opposition challenger who accused him of vote-rigging in the contest for the presidency of Bosnia’s Serb-run part.
 
Bosnian Serb leader and member of the Bosnian Presidency Milorad Dodik waves as he leads thousands who gathered to support the "people's rally for the defense of Republika Srpska" protest in Banja Luka, Bosnia, Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022. Tens of thousands of people rallied in Bosnia Tuesday to demand from electoral authorities to end a recount of ballots cast in one of the races in the country’s Oct. 2 general election and confirm a staunchly pro-Russian politician as the president of its Serb-run part. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)

Bosnia: Thousands protest recount of vote in Serb-run region

BANJA LUKA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Tens of thousands of people rallied in Bosnia Tuesday to demand that electoral authorities end a recount of ballots from a contested general election this month and confirm a staunchly pro-Russian politician as president of the country’s Serb-run part.
 
A man wearing a traditional Serbian hat shout slogans during a protest against alleged election fraud in the general elections in the Bosnian town of Banja Luka, 240 kms northwest of Sarajevo, Sunday, Oct. 9, 2022. Thousands on Sunday rallied in Bosnia for the second time in a week, alleging that pro-Russian Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik rigged a ballot during a general election in the Balkan country last weekend. (AP Photo/Radivoje Pavicic)

Bosnian Serbs protest alleging vote-rigging by Dodik

Thousands have rallied in Bosnia for the second time in a week, alleging that a pro-Russian Bosnian Serb leader rigged the presidential vote during Bosnia’s general election.
 
People protest against alleged election fraud in a general elections in the Bosnian town of Banja Luka, 240 kms northwest of Sarajevo, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022. Opposition parties asking to open the bags and recount the votes for the President of Republika Srpska. (AP Photo/Radivoje Pavicic)

Bosnia election officials investigate possible vote-rigging

Bosnia’s election authorities are voicing concerns over widespread problems at polling stations and reports of irregularities and vote-rigging in the general election last weekend
 
People protest against alleged election fraud in a general elections in the Bosnian town of Banja Luka, 240 kms northwest of Sarajevo, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022. Opposition parties asking to open the bags and recount the votes for the President of Republika Srpska. (AP Photo/Radivoje Pavicic)

Protesters allege pro-Russia Bosnian Serb leader rigged vote

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (AP) — Several thousand people in Bosnia joined an opposition protest Thursday against a result in the country’s general election last weekend, alleging a pro-Russia Bosnian Serb leader rigged the vote to win the position he sought.
 
The Bosnian Parliament building is reflected on an election poster of Bakir Izetbegovic who is running for the Bosnian Presidency on the upcoming elections in Sarajevo, Bosnia, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. On the face of it, Bosnia's upcoming general election could be about the fight against corruption and helping its ailing economy. But at the time when Russia has a strong incentive to reignite conflict in the small Balkan nation, the Oct 2. vote appears set to be an easy test for long-entrenched nationalists who have enriched cronies and ignored the needs of the people. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)

Bosnia election expected to re-legitimize a failing system

Bosnia’s general election should be about fighting rampant corruption and the country’s ailing economy.
 
Serb member of the Bosnian Presidency Milorad Dodik speaks during campaign rally of Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) in Istocno Sarajevo, Bosnia, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. Bosnia and Herzegovina will hold a general election on Oct. 2. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)

Bosnian Serb separatist leader blasts West, praises Russia

Bosnian Serb separatist leader Milorad Dodik is facing an election this weekend and he has blasted the West and praised Vladimir Putin over his policies in the Balkans.
 
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Milorad Dodik, the Serb member of Bosnia and Herzegovina's tripartite presidency, shake hands during a meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022. (Grigory Sysoev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Putin meets Bosnian Serb separatist leader, praises Serbia

Bosnian Serb separatist leader Milorad Dodik has met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
 
FILE - Bosnian Serb member of the tripartite Presidency of Bosnia Milorad Dodik watches military exercises on Batajnica, military airport near Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, April 30, 2022. Dodik, a member of Bosnia's tripartite presidency, claimed at a pre-election rally Wednesday that the Bosnian Serb spying agency is now capable of listening to the conversations by U.S. Ambassador Michael Murphy and his staff. The U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo on Thursday described claims by the Bosnian Serb leader that his security services are eavesdropping on the American ambassador to Sarajevo as "blustering" and added that his separatist policies are "gambling" with the future of the Serb entity in the Balkan state. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic, File)

US scoffs as Bosnian Serb leader claims he can spy on US

The U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo has described claims by the Bosnian Serb leader that his security services are eavesdropping on the American ambassador to Sarajevo as “blustering.”
 
FILE - Bosnian Serb member of the tripartite Presidency of Bosnia Milorad Dodik watches military exercises on Batajnica, military airport near Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, April 30, 2022. The leader of Bosnian Serbs said Sunday, June 26, 2022 he hoped Donald Trump would return to power in the United States and that the Serbs will "wait for appropriate global circumstances" in order to reach their goal secede from Bosnia which he said is an "unsustainable state." (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic, File)

Bosnian Serb leader prays for Trump’s return, praises Putin

The leader of Bosnia’s Serbs says he hopes former U.S. President Donald Trump returns to power. Milorad Dodik said on Sunday that Serbs will “wait for appropriate global circumstances” to reach for their goal of seceding from Bosnia, which he called an “unsustainable state.”
 

Thousands of Serbs protest international moves in Bosnia

BANJA LUKA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Thousands of Bosnian Serbs rallied Wednesday to protest recent decisions of the top international official in the ethnically divided Balkan country.
 

Bosnia’s international official suspends Serb property law

The top international official in Bosnia has suspended a Bosnian Serb property law that is seen as part of a separatist drive by Bosnian Serbs.
 
FILE - President of the Republic of Srpska Milorad Dodik, left, speaks with Prime Minister of Republika Srpska Zeljka Cvijanovic during the final campaign rally in the Bosnian town of Banja Luka, 240 kms northwest of Sarajevo, on, Oct. 5, 2018. Britain sanctioned two leading Bosnian-Serb politicians Monday, accusing them of encouraging ethnic hatred and jeopardizing the peace accord that ended the civil war in Bosnia-Herzegovina more than 25 years ago. Milorad Dodik and Zeljka Cvijanovic will be hit with asset freezes and travel bans in the first sanctions the U.K. has leveled in Bosnia. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

UK sanctions 2 Bosnian-Serb leader for undermining peace

Britain has sanctioned two leading Bosnian-Serb politicians. It is accusing them of encouraging ethnic hatred and jeopardizing the peace accord that ended the civil war in Bosnia more than 25 years ago.
 
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell speaks with the media as he arrives for a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 21, 2022. The European Union's top diplomat, foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, welcomed the prospect of a summit but said that should diplomacy fail the 27-nation has finalized its package of sanctions for use if Putin orders an invasion. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

EU vows to help prevent the possible breakup of Bosnia

The European Union’s top diplomat says the bloc is ready to use all tools available to prevent the possible breakup up of ethnically divided Bosnia.
 
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba (C) talks with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell (L) and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock as they meet with the Foreign Ministers of the G7 Nations on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, southern Germany, on February 19, 2022. (Ina Fassbender/Pool via AP)

EU foreign policy chief: Bloc won’t accept Bosnia breakup

The European Union’s foreign policy chief says he’s deeply concerned about tensions in Bosnia and has appealed to leaders there to avoid the breakup of the Balkan country.
 

Envoy: US will sanction those who undermine peace in Bosnia

A top U.S. official has reiterated the United States’ continued commitment to Bosnia, saying that new sanctions would be imposed against those in the war-scared Balkan country who engage in corruption and undermine the 1995 Dayton Peace Accord.
 
Members of the police forces of Republic of Srpska march during a parade marking the 30th anniversary of the Republic of Srpska in Banja Luka, northern Bosnia, Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022. This week Bosnian Serb political leader Milorad Dodik was slapped with new U.S. sanctions for alleged corruption. Dodik maintains the West is punishing him for championing the rights of ethnic Serbs in Bosnia — a dysfunctional country of 3.3 million that's never truly recovered from a fratricidal war in the 1990s that became a byname for ethnic cleansing and genocide. (AP Photo/Radivoje Pavicic)

Amid tensions, Bosnian Serbs celebrate outlawed holiday

Under growing international pressure over their leader’s secessionist aspirations, Bosnian Serbs have celebrated an outlawed holiday with a provocative parade showcasing armored vehicles, police helicopters and law enforcement officers with rifles, marching in lockstep and singing a nationalist song
 
FILE- Bosnian Serb member of the tripartite Presidency of Bosnia Milorad Dodik speaks during a press conference after talks with U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Gabriel Escobar in the capital Sarajevo, Bosnia, on Nov. 8, 2021. Long-reigning Bosnian Serb leader, Milorad Dodik, has grown increasingly hostile this week as the West turned up the pressure on him to stop a spiraling secessionist campaign in his multiethnic Balkan country of 3.3 million people that has never truly recovered from its fratricidal 1992-95 war. (AP Photo, File)

Bosnia’s Dodik: From moderate to genocide-denying autocrat

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — He was once described in Washington as an anti-nationalist “breath of fresh air” in the murderous, genocide-scarred Balkan morass of ethnically divided Bosnia.
 
FILE - Bosnian Serb member of the tripartite Presidency of Bosnia Milorad Dodik speaks during a press conference after talks with U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Gabriel Escobar in the capital Sarajevo, Bosnia, Nov. 8, 2021. The Biden administration on Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022, announced sanctions against Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, accusing him of “corrupt activities” that threaten to destabilize the region and undermine peace accords. (AP Photo, File)

US imposes sanctions against Bosnian Serb leader Dodik

The Biden administration has announced sanctions against Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, accusing him of “corrupt activities” that threaten to destabilize the region and undermine peace accords.
 

Germany pulls honor for Israeli historian over Bosnia report

The German government has dropped plans to give the country’s highest honor to an Israeli historian amid criticism of his work on the genocide in Bosnia.
 
New elected German Foreign minister Annalena Baerbock gives a press conference after a meeting with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian, at the Quai d'Orsay, in Paris, Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021. (Gonzalo Fuentes, Pool Photo via AP)

Germany wants EU sanctions slapped on Bosnian Serb leader

Germany’s new foreign minister says the European Union should slap sanctions on Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik for his efforts to get Serb-dominated areas in Bosnia to secede from the Balkan country.
 
Bosnian Serb's lawmakers take part in the parliament session in Banja Luka, Bosnia, Friday, Dec. 10, 2021. The Bosnian Serb parliament convened on Friday to vote on a set of steps that would weaken the war-ravaged Balkan country's central authority as their leader steps up his secession campaign despite a threat of new U.S. and other sanctions. (AP Photo/Radivoje Pavicic)

Serbs vote to weaken Bosnia, step up their secession drive

The Bosnian Serb parliament has voted to launch a series of steps that would weaken the war-ravaged Balkan country’s central institutions as the Bosnian Serb leader stepped up his secession campaign despite a threat of new U.S. sanctions.
 
FILE - In this Monday, Aug. 2, 2021 file photo, Christian Schmidt, new head of Bosnia's Office of the High Representative, or OHR, speaks during a ceremony in the capital Sarajevo. The chief international representative in Bosnia has on Tuesday, Nov. 2 warned that the war-scarred Balkan state could face the biggest “existential threat of the post war period” if Bosnian Serb separatist moves are not curbed by international community. In a report which he is scheduled to deliver to the UN Security Council this week, High Representative for Bosnia Christian Schmidt said that if Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik carries out his separatist threats, including the withdrawal of Serb troops from the joint Bosnian army and the creation a separate Serb force, “the prospects of further division and conflict are very real.”(AP Photo, file)

International envoy: Bosnian Serbs trying to break up Bosnia

The chief international representative in Bosnia is warning that the war-scarred Balkan nation could face the biggest “existential threat of the post-war period” if the international community does not curb threatened separatist actions by Bosnian Serbs.
 
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