Milorad Dodik, the leader of Republika Srpska, one of the two entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, told the BBC Russian Service that he will try to convince Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, to support his aspirations, which include plans to hold a referendum on independence.
This would signal a further escalation of the constitutional crisis that threatens to lead to the disintegration of the country and provoke a new ethnic conflict.
Milorad Dodik has been opposing the central government of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in Sarajevo for years.
But in August 2025, this confrontation entered a critical phase: the Constitutional Court in Sarajevo banned Dodik from holding official positions for six years, after which the Central Election Commission removed him from the post of President of Republika Srpska and set a date for new elections.
He rejected the decision and remains in office; most Bosnian Serbs are expected to boycott new elections. Dodik met with BBC journalists at the presidential office in Banja Luka.
"Bosnia and Herzegovina is meaningless. After all the international operations, pressures, tricks and deceptions, it is a defective country. It does not deserve the right to exist and it is logical that the Serbian people demand their right to the status of an independent country," Dodik said.
He also said he wanted to secure the Russian leader's support for plans to secede from Bosnia and Herzegovina:
"We have discussed this before, but Putin has always supported the Dayton Agreement and the territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This was also discussed the last time we spoke. But a lot has changed since then. I will try to convince him to support our position (on RS independence). I don't know if I will succeed, but I will definitely talk about it."
- Referendum in Republika Srpska: Why was it called and what does Dodik want?
- Milorad Dodik is no longer the President of Republika Srpska, the Court of BiH rejected the appeal
- Dodik drops law on 'protection of RS constitutional order', opposition calls it 'repressive'
A meeting with Putin is expected in October – and on October 25th, a referendum organized by Dodik will be held, which will question the powers of the central authorities of BiH.
The residents of RS will have to answer whether they accept the decisions of the Constitutional Court and the High Representative – the highest civilian observer of the implementation of the peace process, who is traditionally a representative of one of the EU countries.
Dodik calls the High Representative an "unelected foreigner" whose actions are illegitimate.
For the federal government of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, Dodik's rhetoric represents separatism, and the referendum is unconstitutional.
Few doubt that Bosnian Serbs will support their leader in the referendum - and that Sarajevo will reject the result.
What would happen then?
Dodik proposes another vote.
"We will probably ask the people at some point if they want to live in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where their will is not respected."
He insists that he has the right to seek independence because modern Bosnia was created as a result of an agreement imposed on Serbs with another part of the country, the Federation of Bosniaks and Croats:
"Now one of the parties to the agreement, Republika Srpska, wants to leave it."
- Victory Day in Moscow: Xi Jinping, Vučić, Dodik and Fico join Putin
- Attempt to detain RS President Milorad Dodik fails, Schmidt punishes him
- Is Republika Srpska heading towards independence: What does the draft of the new Constitution say?
In response, the BiH authorities and the international community emphasize that Republika Srpska enjoys the highest degree of autonomy with its own flag, police, and government.
In addition, as part of BiH, it has received hundreds of millions of euros in financial assistance and investment from EU countries, as well as visa-free regime and EU candidate country status.
The war in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995 divided the former neighbors, who spoke the same language, into three groups along ethno-religious lines: Bosniaks (Muslims), Orthodox Serbs, and Catholic Croats.
More than 100.000 people died, about 2,3 percent of the country's pre-war population, while more than two million people became internally displaced persons and refugees.
The war ended in 1995 with the Dayton Peace Agreement, negotiated by the United States with the support of the European Union and Russia.
Dodik did not participate in the war. In 1998, he became Prime Minister of the RS with the support of US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who saw him as an alternative to the nationalists.
After two terms as Prime Minister, he was elected President of the RS, then a member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina from the ranks of Serbs, and then returned to the Presidency of the RS.
- About awards and visits: What do the meetings between Dodik and Putin mean?
- All of Milorad Dodik's threats to leave Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Dodik sentenced to one year in prison, Serbia will not arrest him, says Vučić
Dodik remains the most popular politician among Serbs in BiH.
But his relationship with the West has changed. He calls EU involvement in Bosnian politics an “occupation,” has been under US sanctions since 2017, and meets with the Russian leader so frequently that he is called “Putin’s man in the Balkans.”
He rejects that description: "They used to call me an American man or someone else's man. But I am a man of the Serbian people in Bosnia, my people."
In addition to Putin, he also has high hopes for US President Donald Trump, whom he calls a "colossal historical figure" and says he is very happy about his return to power.
After Trump won a second presidential term, Dodik even had a photo taken wearing a red cap with the inscription "Make America Great Again."
But that feeling has so far remained unrequited on the other side of the Atlantic.
In March, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Dodik of undermining Bosnia and Herzegovina's institutions and threatening its security and called on US partners to oppose his actions.
The Trump administration has maintained sanctions against Dodik imposed by his predecessors.
BBC is in Serbian from now on and on YouTube, follow us
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube i Viber. If you have a topic suggestion for us, please contact bbcnasrpskom@bbc.co.uk
- All of Mladić's Men: The Operatives Who Carried Out the Genocide
- Bosnia and Herzegovina: Three peoples, three history textbooks
- What does Trump's return mean for the Balkans?
- Bosnia and Herzegovina: Is the Dayton Agreement a brake?
- American secretaries of state and the Balkans: Across the ocean, but always in front of our eyes
- "All-Serbian Assembly" in Belgrade: "We are for peace, we need unity"
Bonus video:
