Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik met with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a surprise visit to Moscow as lawmakers back home warned the nationalist leader was putting Bosnia-Herzegovina's EU drive at risk.
Dodik, who left Bosnia even though he's the target of an international arrest warrant over accusations that he flouted the Balkan country's constitution, posted a video of himself on social media on April 1 in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier along the wall of the Kremlin.
"I start every time I stay here with a visit to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to pay my respects to the 28 million Russians who died in World War II," Dodik said in the video posted on X shortly after he arrived in Moscow.
He provided no agenda for his visit but said he would "be here again on May 9 at the invitation of the president of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory over fascism."
Hours later, Dodik said on the X social network that he had his "26th meeting" with the Russian president, stressing that "Putin knows the details, the overall situation that is happening" in Republika Srpska" and "is interested in everything" that ordinary residents of the entity are concerned about.
Dodik's statement was accompanied with a video showing him shaking hands with Putin before the talks.
"Russia is a very important country for Republika Srpska in the [UN] Security Council, and it has always been objective. Russia is the guarantor of the peace agreement and Putin said that at the meeting," Dodik's statement said, adding that Russia will advocate for the end of the work of international institutions in Republika Srpska.
Dodik, who is the president of Republika Srpska, is currently under US and UK sanctionsfor actions Western governments say are aimed at the secession of Republika Srpska from Bosnia.
The Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina on March 27 requested the international arrest warrant after Dodik failed to respond to a summons from the Prosecutor-General's Office on suspicion that he committed the criminal offense of attacking the constitutional order of Bosnia. The move came after the court issued a national arrest warrant on March 18.
SEE ALSO: Bosnian Serb Leader Dodik Once Again Moves Country Closer To The BrinkBosnian Foreign Minister Elemdin Konakovic warned after meeting OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioglu on April 1 that Dodik's moves "are trampling the interests of the state," especially Bosnia's path to European Union membership.
Sinirlioglu warned that Dodik's disregard for Bosnia's constitution could lead to serious internal consequences for the country and "also lead to far-reaching consequences for peace and stability in the region."
In his video from Moscow, Dodik spoke of the suffering of Russians and Serbs in the defeat of fascism.
SEE ALSO: EU Calls Republika Srpska Law On 'Foreign Agents' A 'Backward Step'"Some are trying to revise history. It is impossible to do so, but those who want to do so are openly trying to distort historical facts," he said.
"But the historical fact about the suffering of the Russian and Serbian people, and the Jewish people during World War II is simply impossible to change."
Dodik also spoke highly of Putin, whom he has met several times since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and described as "the historic leader of the Russian people."
He added that Putin has welcomed "another counterpart who is important to him in the fight against the globalist elite, and that is [US] President [Donald] Trump."
The Bosnian court requested the international arrest warrant for Dodik and for Nenad Stevandic, speaker of the Republika Srpska Parliament, on suspicion of the same crime -- attacking the constitutional order of Bosnia.
SEE ALSO: OSCE Chair Demands Respect For Constitution To End Bosnia's CrisisDodik announced his arrival in Moscow on March 29 but did not provide details.
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 has 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.