Bosnian state prosecutors ordered the arrest of separatist Serb leader Milorad Dodik and his associates on Wednesday for ignoring a court summons, an action Dodik vowed to resist with Russia’s help.
It is reported that the dispute, which pits Dodik and his allies in Russia and Serbia against the US and the EU, is one of the biggest threats to peace in the Balkans since the conflicts of the 1990s following the collapse of socialist Yugoslavia.
The situation started after Dodik, the president of the Serb Autonomous Republic of Bosnia, defied the decisions of the international envoy in Bosnia, whose role is to prevent the multi-ethnic Balkan state from slipping into conflict.
Dodik was sentenced to one year in prison and banned from holding office for six years in a court ruling he can appeal.
In response, Dodik initiated laws that prohibit the judiciary and the state police from the region.
The state prosecutor’s office then launched what it described as an attack on the constitutional order, writes Reuters.
On Wednesday, it sought Dodik’s arrest for failing to respond to the court summons, although it was unclear whether they aimed to arrest him and his allies or simply escort them to court.
“This is an invalid matter,” Dodik said at a press conference in the Banja Luka region, showing the arrest warrant.
“This is politically motivated, and we do not want to participate in it,” he added.
Reports suggest that Dodik plans to hold high-level meetings with Russian representatives in the coming days.
He said at the conference that he would ask Russia to veto the extension of the European peacekeeping mission in Bosnia at the UN Security Council, which is expected to be held in November.
