US President Donald Trump has moved to lift sanctions on Bosnian Serbian leader Milorad Dodik, his family members, and political allies. The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the decision without explanation on Wednesday.
‘I am grateful to President Trump and his associates for correcting a grave injustice inflicted upon Republika Srpska, its representatives, and their families,’ Dodik wrote in a post on X. He argued that the decision is not merely a legal correction but also a ‘moral vindication of the truth about Republika Srpska and all those who have served it with honour.’ Dodik highlighted that the accusations forming the basis of the sanctions imposed by the Obama administration in 2017 were nothing but ‘lies and propaganda’.
‘To those who, over the years, took satisfaction in these falsehoods and believed the slander of others, I can forgive everything—except the years we lost because they believed Republika Srpska would fall. Today, it is clear: Republika Srpska will never fall,’ Dodik concluded.
Dodik was first sanctioned in 2017 by the Obama administration for defying Bosnia’s Constitutional Court and obstructing the Dayton Peace Agreement. At the time, the Treasury Department accused him of threatening the ‘sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina’. The Biden administration imposed sanctions on Dodik again in 2022.
Dodik, who served as the president of Republika Srpska, one of the two autonomous entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was barred from holding public office earlier in 2025, a verdict confirmed by an appeal court in August. Technically, Dodik had to give up the presidency, which is now filled by Ana Trišić-Babić, acting as interim president until elections are held. Dodik was also sentenced to one year in jail for refusing to comply with rulings issued by high representatives Valentin Inzko and Christian Schmidt.
‘It’s time for everyone to respect the decision of the PEOPLE’
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán maintains a close relationship with Dodik, who has visited Hungary several times even after his conviction. Orbán described the ruling against Dodik as a political witch hunt and denounced its legitimacy. ‘It’s time for everyone to respect the decision of the PEOPLE of Republika Srpska, who elected @MiloradDodik as their president. There is no place for legal witch-hunts in a democracy,’ Orbán stressed during Dodik’s visit to Budapest in August.
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