The President of the Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Milorad Dodik \u2013 who is sanctioned by the United States and the United Kingdom \u2013 visited Montenegro on February 27, where hundreds of protesters awaited him in front of the Parliament building.<\/p>\n
Dodik, who met with the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, on February 21 in the city of Kazan in the Republic of Tatarstan, which is part of Russia, arrived in Podgorica for a meeting with the Parliament Speaker, Andrija Mandi\u0107.<\/p>\n
Dodik\u2019s meeting with Putin was the fourth since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n
At a meeting in May 2023, Dodik said, \u201cRepublika Srpska remains pro-Russian, anti-Western, and anti-American\u201d.<\/p>\n
The cabinet of the President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatovi\u0107, and the government of Milojko Spaji\u0107 told Radio Free Europe (RFE) that they had no official information about Dodik\u2019s visit or notifications of meetings with officials.<\/p>\n
Protesters gathered at the Parliament building criticized Mandi\u0107\u2019s meeting with Dodik, holding banners that read: \u201cWe must say no to Mandi\u0107 and Dodik!\u201d and a banner stating: \u201cPutin\u2019s envoys are not welcome\u201d.<\/p>\n
Entering the parliament building, Dodik greeted the crowd with three fingers.<\/p>\n
Protesters responded by shouting \u201cfascist\u201d.<\/p>\n
Dodik told Putin that Republika Srpska refuses to join sanctions against Russia despite pressure from Western governments and said he does not want to see Bosnia join NATO.<\/p>\n
Two days before his meeting with Putin, Dodik met with Belarusian authoritarian leader Aleksandr Lukashenko, who has been under EU sanctions since 2020 due to irregularities in the presidential elections of that year, which he claimed to have won.<\/p>\n
Mandi\u0107, as one of the leaders of the pro-Russian Democratic Front coalition, with two other parties, said it was a great honor to host Dodik.<\/p>\n
Mandi\u0107 said he would discuss with Dodik a proposed cooperation agreement in the fields of business, sports, education, and culture in line with the Dayton Agreement.<\/p>\n
He said at a press conference that the previous government had rejected the agreement.<\/p>\n
Opposition parties reacted strongly to Dodik\u2019s visit.<\/p>\n
The pro-European Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) said he came with \u201cthe task of conveying Putin\u2019s messages to his allies in Montenegro\u201d.<\/p>\n
Abaz Dizdarevi\u0107, a DPS deputy, said Dodik\u2019s visit to Montenegro after his trips to Russia, Belarus, and Serbia confirms that Montenegro\u2019s officials are deceiving international partners with their European agenda.<\/p>\n
The Bosniak Party said Dodik\u2019s visit was a clear sign that Montenegro \u201cis becoming a haven for politicians and policies that represent Russian politics in the Balkans\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The President of the Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Milorad Dodik \u2013 who is sanctioned by the United States and the United Kingdom \u2013 visited Montenegro on February 27, where hundreds of protesters awaited him in front of the Parliament building. Dodik, who met with the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, on February 21 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":66751,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[250],"tags":[2251,4942,460,1224],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n