Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó on Wednesday welcomed the U.S. decision to lift sanctions on Milorad Dodik, the elected president of Bosnia’s Serb entity, Republika Srpska (RS), calling it an “excellent decision” and a sign of improved international understanding.
“I hope all my European colleagues will understand the message behind this decision,” Szijjártó wrote on the social media platform X, adding that Dodik had “done much to strengthen relations between Republika Srpska and Hungary.”
The U.S. Treasury Department announced the removal of Dodik, Bosnia’s Serb member of the presidency Željka Cvijanović, RS National Assembly Speaker Nenad Stevandić, and several other individuals and companies from its sanctions list. The designations were imposed during previous U.S. administrations over allegations of corruption and undermining the Dayton Peace Agreement.
Trump Allies Applaud Decision
Former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, who served time for corruption and now works as a registered lobbyist for Republika Srpska, also praised the move, thanking former U.S. president Donald Trump for what he called “a new day in the Balkans.”
“Thank you to President Trump’s administration for lifting all sanctions imposed by the politicized Biden and Obama administrations against President Dodik, his family and associates,” Blagojevich wrote on X. “This is a new day in the Balkans, where Christian Serbs and Croats can hope for real autonomy and closer ties with the United States.”
Dodik had been under U.S. sanctions since 2017 for what Washington described as obstruction of the Dayton accords and corrupt practices. The decision marks a significant shift in U.S. sanctions policy toward Bosnia’s Serb entity, reportedly following informal contacts between Dodik and Trump’s team.
U.S. Lawmaker Condemns Move
Democratic U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen sharply criticized the decision, calling it “irresponsible and premature.”
“Dodik has undermined the Dayton Peace Agreement, aligned himself with Putin, and profited from corruption — none of which justifies lifting sanctions,” Shaheen wrote on X. “The American people deserve an explanation.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), part of the U.S. Treasury, has not commented in detail on the reasons for the delisting. The move, however, has drawn mixed reactions across Europe and the Balkans, where Dodik remains a deeply polarizing figure — viewed by supporters as a defender of Serb autonomy and by critics as a nationalist who threatens Bosnia’s fragile peace.