WASHINGTON, 30 October (H.S.): The United States Treasury Department on Wednesday lifted sanctions on Milorad Dodik, the Bosnian Serb nationalist leader, as well as his allies, family members, and associated companies.The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) did not offer a detailed explanation for the move.

Dodik, the former president of Bosnia’s autonomous Serb Republic, had been under US sanctions since 2017 for undermining the Dayton peace treaty that concluded Bosnia’s ethnic war in the 1990s. A pro-Russian nationalist, Dodik has consistently advocated for the secession of the Serb Republic from Bosnia.This decision comes after significant political shifts in the region.

In August, Dodik was removed from his post following a court verdict that banned him from politics. Subsequently, on October 18, Bosnian Serb lawmakers appointed an interim president and nullified a series of separatist laws that had been passed under Dodik’s leadership.

The US State Department welcomed these developments, describing them as the result of US-led efforts to defuse the crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina. While the official announcement was concise, Serb officials have suggested they have been secretly working to forge a new relationship with the United States.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar