Serbian nationalist Dodik wants to increase gas imports from Russia, the pipeline runs through Serbia

The Republika Srpska of Bosnia and Herzegovina is planning to increase gas imports from Russia, Russian media reported on Monday, citing Milorad Dodik, the president of the etnity.

Recognizing the industry’s demand for gas supplies and the acceptance of gas as the most sustainable source of energy, the goal is to further increase gas supplies in Republika Srpska, Dodik said in an interview with the Russian newspaper Izvestia. In the interview, Dodik confirmed that Republika Srpska had signed an agreement with Russia’s Gazprom last year to purchase gas until 2025, with payments for supplies in roubles. Russian gas reaches Bosnia via Turkey, Bulgaria and Serbia.

Last year, the Bosnian government approved an agreement with Serbia for a Gazprom-financed gas pipeline from the Serbian border to Bosnia’s Novi Grad. However, the contract is awaiting approval by the Council of Ministers and the Bosnian presidency and is facing opposition from Bosniak and Croatian members, as Radio Free Europe previously reported. Local media also previously reported that Russia wants to invest in a project worth over 1.5 billion euros to build two 600 MW gas-fired power plants in Republika Srpska.

Under the US-brokered Dayton Peace Agreement, which ended the war in Bosnia in the 1990s, the country is divided into two entities – the Republika Srpska (populated mainly by ethnic Serbs) and the Federation (populated mainly by Bosniaks and Croats). 49% and 51% of the country’s territory respectively. The Federation and Republika Srpska have their own governments and parliaments and are linked by a weak central government. An international supervisory body exercises supreme authority in the country. Dodik, the leader of the Bosnian Serbs, is under sanctions from the USA and Great Britain.

/The Geopost