Russia warns Bosnia’s unity at risk after court bans Serb leader from office

New York, Russia has warned that Bosnia and Herzegovina’s existence as a united state is at risk after a court ruling banned the president of the country’s Serb-majority entity from political office for defying the international peace envoy.

Bosnia’s election commission removed Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik from office after an appeals court upheld his one-year prison sentence and a six-year ban from politics for refusing to implement decisions issued by the UN High Representative in BiH, Christian Schmidt — an appointment Moscow and Beijing have contested at the United Nations.

Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy told reporters that Dodik’s prosecution “threatens the stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” adding that Moscow had raised the issue at a UN Security Council meeting earlier in the day.

Dodik, a longtime separatist leader, said on Wednesday he would propose a referendum on whether to accept the Central Electoral Commission’s decision to revoke his mandate and call an early presidential election.

Source: UNI News

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