Lawmakers Call for More Sanctions on Bosnian Serb Leader
A bipartisan group of nine lawmakers urged the State Department on March 12 to increase sanctions, including financial restrictions, on Bosnian Serb Republic President Milorad Dodik and his “enablers” for continuing to promote secession from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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In a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the lawmakers accused Dodik of recently implementing unconstitutional laws that interfere with the functioning of Bosnia and Herzegovina state institutions and undermine the 1995 agreement that ended the Bosnian War.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, led the letter with Sens. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., the chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Reps. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., and Mike Quigley, D-Ill., also signed. The State Department didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Near the end of the Biden administration, the Treasury Department announced several rounds of sanctions against Dodik supporters (see 2501170071, 2412180050 and 2411060017), and President Joe Biden expanded the scope of a 2021 executive order that authorizes sanctions against those who contribute to destabilization in the Western Balkans (see 2501080025).