The U.S. State Department told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) that the “constructive actions” recently undertaken by the National Assembly of Republika Srpska influenced Washington’s decision to lift sanctions against former Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik and dozens of individuals and companies linked to him.
Dodik, the president of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, had been sanctioned twice for violating the Dayton Peace Agreement. The sanctions against him, his family members, companies, and close associates were lifted on Wednesday.
In a written response to RFE/RL, the State Department emphasized that the recent steps taken by Republika Srpska’s assembly “should help improve stability in Bosnia and enable a partnership with the United States based on shared interests, economic potential, and prosperity.”
“We will continue to work closely with political actors across Bosnia to establish common priorities,” the statement read.
In addition to Dodik—who was removed from his post as president of the Serb entity following a prison sentence for refusing to comply with decisions of the High Representative in Bosnia—U.S. authorities also lifted sanctions against Bosnian Presidency member Željka Cvijanović and more than 40 individuals and legal entities.
The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) did not provide detailed explanations for the delisting in its Wednesday announcement.
What decisions did the Republika Srpska Assembly make?
On October 18, the General Assembly of the Serb entity adopted a law repealing several pieces of legislation previously declared unconstitutional by Bosnia’s Constitutional Court.
These include:
- The Law on Immovable Property Used for the Functioning of Public Authorities,
- The Law on Non-Implementation of Decisions of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina,
- The Republika Srpska Election Law,
- The Law on Prohibition of Activities of Unconstitutional Institutions in Bosnia,
- The Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code of Republika Srpska, and
- The Law on the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Republika Srpska.
Dodik had been convicted by a Bosnian court for signing a law that called for the non-implementation of the Constitutional Court’s decisions in the entity he led. In addition to a one-year prison sentence—later commuted to a fine—he was banned from holding public office for six years.
The Assembly also annulled 12 parliamentary conclusions adopted in December 2024, which several Western embassies had jointly described as “positions contrary to the Dayton Agreement.”
Additionally, the Assembly appointed Ana Trišić-Babić, a former advisor to Dodik, as the acting president of Republika Srpska.
