The President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, who is on the sanctions list of the USA and Great Britain, met in Minsk with the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, who was sanctioned by the European Union. As reported by Radio-television of Republika Srpska (RTRS), the meeting took place in the morning on Monday, February 19.
Dodik has been sanctioned by London and Washington due to obstruction of the Dayton Agreement and violation of the legitimacy and functionality of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), while Lukashenko has been under sanctions since 2020 due to electoral irregularities in Belarus, which he has ruled for almost three decades. broadcast by Radio Free Europe (RSE).
"I thanked the Republic of Srpska for its support. We talked about economic cooperation and we continue to cooperate", Dodik said after the meeting and that "Republika Srpska did not allow the introduction of sanctions against Belarus and that everyone appreciates that in this country".
So that Lukashenko and Putin don't hold grudges afterwards
Bosnia and Herzegovina joined the EU sanctions, but does not implement them due to the obstruction of the RS government led by Milorad Dodik. According to the law, the BiH Council of Ministers, after consultation with the Presidency of BiH, which leads foreign policy, decides on the manner of introducing, implementing and abolishing sanctions against foreign countries, RSE reports.
"When we were exposed to making political decisions on sanctions against Belarus and Russia, we didn't think about it once, but long-term." Neither Russia nor Belarus will be able to forgive many of these sanctions," Dodik told RTRS.
He allegedly went to Minsk "to let them know that there is a Republika Srpska that is fighting for its sovereignty, status and freedom", announcing that cooperation with Belarus will be expanded in the field of healthcare.
The territorial integrity and sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as one state with two entities and Brčko District, are guaranteed by the Dayton Peace Agreement, and this agreement and the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina do not give any entity the right to secede.
By the way, in 2020, as a member of the BiH Presidency, Dodik congratulated Lukashenko on his "re-election as President of Belarus".
Dodik has been visiting Belarus since Saturday, after which, as he announced, he will go to Moscow where, he says, he will to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and then with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The president of the Bosnian entity Republika Srpska is one of the few officials who, since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has met with Russian and Belarusian officials who are under US and European Union sanctions for aggression against Ukraine.
Who is Lukashenko?
Alexander Lukashenko has been in power in Belarus since 1994, and Western countries, the Belarusian opposition and non-governmental organizations accuse him of human rights violations and repression of political opponents.
In the presidential elections in August 2020, he declared victory, which is not recognized by the opposition and the West.
Since then, EU sanctions have targeted the Belarusian authorities and prominent figures in the political, economic and judicial spheres, as "a response to the unacceptable violence of the Belarusian authorities against peaceful protesters, intimidation, arbitrary arrests and detentions after the elections".
There are about 1500 political prisoners in Belarusian prisons, including human rights activists, politicians and journalists.
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