SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina – European Union and US officials on Monday condemned Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik for awarding Russia’s Vladimir Putin the highest honor to the entity he leads, amid concerns about the implications of joining the 27-member bloc. I warned
Dodik’s Serb-majority unit, Republika Srpska, one of two administrative units in Bosnia and Herzegovina, presented the award to Putin in absentia on Sunday night before launching celebrations referred to as “Republic Day” on Monday . The holiday, which marks the date when the Republika Srpska was established at the start of the Bosnian War, was declared illegal by the country’s constitutional court and the date the ethnic cleansing of large areas of Bosnia began during 1992–1995. was condemned to happen. Warning.
Dodik, who has maintained close ties with Russia even amid its invasion of Ukraine, said Putin was being honored “especially for his patriotic concern and love for the Republika Srpska”.
Peter Stano, the European Commission’s chief foreign affairs spokesman, responded on Monday by reminding the Balkan country that Received EU candidate status Just last month, that “political leaders in all institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina know how important it is for the EU to stick to the rule of law.”
Stano said: “This is even more important in a situation where Bosnia has been granted EU candidate status.”
US Embassy in Sarajevo Told Monday that “Milorad Dodik’s decision to award the award to Vladimir Putin, the man who launched an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine that resulted in the deaths of thousands of civilians and the massive destruction of infrastructure, was reprehensible.”
It continued: “It was a denial of the international order based on the values and rules of the Euro-Atlantic community.”
The European Union has maintained a stable role in the Western Balkans since the bloody wars of the 1990s following the disintegration of socialist Yugoslavia. In December, after years of negotiations, the bloc greenlit Bosnia’s candidature status, joining Ukraine and Moldova as the most recent candidate countries.
But Bosnia has faced frequent political instability, especially from leaders such as Dodik, whoOued separatist rhetoric and promoted nationalist sentiment.
Ivana Korajlic, Transparency International’s executive director in Bosnia, said, “By highlighting his closeness to Putin, Dodik seeks to exemplify being a strong and relevant leader, despite the fact that Russia is ostracized by much of the world.” Is.” “He was always proud of Putin and his strong relationship with Russia.”
However, Korajlic said, “There have been many warnings that Dodik’s actions would affect Bosnia’s EU integration process, but this does not affect Dodik one bit. If anything, he has consistently highlighted that Bosnia does not need to be a member of the European Union.