Pro-Russian Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik and dozens of his allies have been removed from the US sanctions list, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced on October 29.
OFAC said in a statement that a total of 48 individuals and entities, including Dodik, the former president of the Bosnian Serb republic who earlier this month stepped aside after a state court banned him from politics, his family and government members, and companies related to them, were delisted from the Western Balkans Sanctions Program.
The Treasury Department did not elaborate on the move, but it follows Washington’s statement earlier this month welcoming the appointment of an interim president to replace Dodik, who had been stripped of his presidency after a court ruling. The interim appointment sets the stage for fresh presidential elections in November.
US State Department told RFE/RL that “constructive actions taken in recent weeks by the National Assembly of Republika Srpska” contributed to the decision to lift US sanctions against Milorad Dodik, the leader of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), Bosnian Presidency member Zeljka Cvijanovic, and their associates. The State Department went on to say that de-listing of Mr. Dodik and others “should help improve stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina and enable a partnership with the United States based on shared interests, economic potential, and prosperity.”
Lawmakers had also annulled a series of separatist laws passed in recent months after Dodik had been indicted for defying decisions of the international envoy and the Constitutional Court.
Dodik called the sanctions removal a correction of a "grave injustice inflicted upon Republika Srpska, its representatives, and their families."
In August, an appeals court in Bosnia-Herzegovina confirmed a prison sentence for Dodik for disregarding the decisions of an international peace envoy, a charge the pro-Russia nationalist politician has dismissed as politically motivated.
While he was president, Republika Srpska in mid-March adopted a draft of a new constitution that would redefine the Serb entity as a state of the Serbian people, grant it the right to self-determination, and establish its own army.
These provisions would be directly in conflict with the Bosnian Constitution and the Dayton peace accords, which established Republika Srpska as one of Bosnia's two entities.
Throughout his tenure as president of Republika Srpska, Dodik faced criticism for authoritarian tendencies, undermining democratic institutions, and fostering a culture of political patronage.
Supporters argue that he has brought stability and development to the entity, while opponents charge that his leadership has deepened divisions among the country's ethnic communities and eroded the state's institutional integrity.
Earlier this month, OFAC removed four individuals from Republika Srpska from the sanctions list who had been designated for organizing the celebration of January 9, the unconstitutional “Day of Republika Srpska.”
Republika Srpska last year signed a contract with the US firm Zell & Associates International Advocates to lobby for the lifting of sanctions and to promote dialogue between Republika Srpska and the Trump administration as well as to seek a review of the Dayton peace accords and the role of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
According to the registration document obtained by RFE/RL, the law firm was to pursue the goals in the US through communication with members of the executive and legislative branches, as well as the NGO sector.
