Zakharova called the verdict of the President of Republika Srpska Dodik unjustified.

The verdict handed down by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) to the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, is unjustified. This statement was made on February 27 by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova.

"The verdict in this case is clearly unjustified and cannot have legal consequences. Obviously, it is aimed solely at removing the leader of the Serbian people of BiH from the political scene," she said at a briefing.

According to her, Dodik's principled patriotic line towards his people "contradicts the Euro-Atlantic principles imposed by the West." She called the court decision another case when politics prevails over law.

Zakharova called the relevant court decision a fabricated case and noted that Moscow shares the outrage of the public in the Balkans.

The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina sentenced Dodik in absentia on February 26 He was sentenced to a year in prison and banned from political activity for six years. This decision can be appealed.

On the same day, the Serbian publication Vreme reported that in June 2023, Dodik signed a decree according to which the decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH were considered invalid on the territory of the Republika Srpska. As a result, in August of the same year, the President of the autonomy was criminally charged with disobeying the High Representative for BiH, Christian Schmidt, approved by the UN Security Council (SC).