E fundit!

12:49 POLITICS

Tensions in the Parliament/ Opposition blocks the podium, session interrupted

Tensions were registered in the plenary session, after DP ...

Bosnia sends note of protest to Hungary over Dodik's reception in Budapest

2025-09-05 18:34:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The Foreign Ministry of Bosnia and Herzegovina sent a note of protest to Hungary on Friday after its Foreign Minister, Peter Szijjarto, referred to Milorad Dodik as the president of Republika Srpska during a meeting in Budapest, despite the court having stripped him of his mandate.

The Bosnian Court of Appeals upheld Dodik's February sentence of one year in prison and a six-year ban from holding office.

As a result, the Bosnian Central Election Commission stripped him of his mandate and announced early elections in the Bosnian Serb entity for November 23.

Dodik has not accepted these decisions, and the Assembly of the Serbian entity called a referendum on the non-recognition of the decisions of state institutions, although the Constitutional Court of Bosnia has already ruled that the entities do not have the right to hold such referendums.

During the meeting in Budapest on Thursday, Szijjarto called Dodik the president of the Serbian entity, saying that Hungary respects the "will of the voters" and said that "neither Brussels nor others should determine the future" of Republika Srpska.

The Bosnian Foreign Ministry said in a protest note sent to the Hungarian Embassy in Sarajevo that it is "concerned that during yesterday's visit to Budapest, during a public appearance and in the presence of Minister Szijjarto, Milorad Dodik supported the partition and threatened the territorial integrity of Bosnia, without the expected reaction from Minister Szijjarto."

She assessed that such actions represent a violation of diplomatic practice, a lack of respect for the decisions of Bosnian institutions, an insult to the country's citizens, and contribute to creating an atmosphere of distrust towards Hungary's political goals.

Hungary has good relations with Dodik, and Budapest has blocked any European Union attempt to sanction him.

A month ago, Dodik also met with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Budapest, after the court's final decision, but before his mandate was revoked.

At the time, Orban said he "does not recognize" the Bosnian Court's decision.

According to official data from the Bosnian Ministry of Finance, the Republika Srpska entity borrowed around 110 million euros from the Hungarian EXIM Bank in 2022, and at the end of April 2025, this entity owed the Hungarian bank around 112 million euros./ REL