Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik met U.S. lawmakers and business leaders in Washington this week amid renewed debate in Congress over whether sanctions against him should be reinstated.
Dodik attended a dinner on Tuesday hosted by the Gold Institute for International Strategy, chaired by former U.S. national security adviser Michael Flynn, alongside institute president Eli M. Gold. The event was also attended by several members of Congress and business executives, according to a statement by the institute.
Speaking at the gathering, Dodik said he wanted to strengthen relations between Republika Srpska, the Serb entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the United States, with a particular focus on economic cooperation. He said trade and investment could serve as a foundation for closer ties.
Dodik also criticised what he described as outside political interference in Republika Srpska, pointing to the European Union and the previous U.S. administration, while welcoming efforts by President Donald Trump’s administration to improve relations and lift U.S. sanctions imposed on him.
The United States removed sanctions on Dodik in October, a move that has drawn criticism from senior Democrats in Congress.
On Wednesday, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called for the sanctions to be reimposed, accusing Dodik of undermining the Dayton Peace Agreement that ended Bosnia’s 1992–95 war.
“The Trump Administration should be embarrassed by its decision to remove Republika Srpska leader Milorad Dodik from U.S. sanctions last October,” Shaheen said in a statement. She said Dodik continued to use secessionist rhetoric and accused him of prioritising his political interests over those of all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Shaheen said the administration should move quickly to reinstate sanctions under provisions included in the most recent National Defense Authorization Act.