BUDAPEST - Attempts to remove Republika Srpska (part of Bosnia and Herzegovina) President Milorad Dodik from office will turn the Balkans into a "powder keg" once again, said Gergely Gulyás, head of the Hungarian Prime Minister's Office. He was reacting to the decision of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), which terminated Dodik's powers as leader of the Bosnian Serbs.
Earlier, a court in Bosnia and Herzegovina sentenced Dodik to one year in prison and banned him from political activity for six years for ignoring the decision of Christian Schmidt, a senior representative of the international community. Following the withdrawal of the President's mandate, the Electoral Commission decided to hold early elections in Republika Srpska.
Dodik said he did not intend to respect the decision and would appeal it. "We see that the Balkans, and not for the first time in history, is turning into a powder keg. The condemnation of the President of the Republika Srpska is clearly a destabilising factor and we consider the current situation absurd. Stability in the Balkans will not be promoted by Western intervention, but by its withdrawal from there. The government considers the condemnation of the President to be an unprecedented step. The European Union should have an interest in the stability of the Balkans,' said Gulyás, who is a minister in the Hungarian government.
He added that Dodik visited Budapest on 5 August, where he received the full support of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. After a meeting with the President of Republika Srpska, Orbán said that Hungary would not recognise BiH's decision on Dodik.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is effectively governed through a High Representative of the international community, appointed by the Steering Committee of the BiH Peace Implementation Council following the approval of the candidacy by the UN Security Council. In 2021, the ambassadors of the Steering Committee countries appointed Schmidt as the new High Representative to BiH without UNSC approval. The leadership of Republika Srpska, as well as Russia and China, do not recognize Schmidt's legitimacy.
TASS/gnews.cz - GH
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