Milorad Dodik, President of Bosnia’s Serb entity, Republika Srpska, said on Thursday he would meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, reaffirming his support for Moscow’s military actions in Ukraine.
Speaking to state broadcaster RTRS, Dodik described Russia’s so-called “special military operation” in Ukraine as a necessary step to protect Russian sovereignty and cultural identity.
“We all know the special operation was a necessity, so that the whole of Russia and its core would not be endangered,” Dodik said, echoing the Kremlin’s narrative. “In my view, the operation was fully justified. Of course, there were casualties, but the fact remains that the West incited the Kyiv regime, which has taken a highly negative stance toward the Russian population.”
Dodik accused Ukrainian authorities of repressing Russian identity by “abolishing the Cyrillic script, banning the language, looting the church, and exploiting the land.”
He added that Russia could not be expected to “ignore such attacks from the West and the Kyiv regime.”
Dodik has long maintained close ties with Moscow and has previously met Putin on several occasions. His attendance at the forum and his remarks come as Western powers continue to impose sanctions on Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022.
The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, once a symbol of Russia’s openness to global investment, has increasingly become a platform for Moscow to showcase its remaining allies amid growing international isolation.