Dodik thanked Russia for voting against the Resolution, Putin stated that Dayton is the basis for preserving the situation in BiH

(Patria) - RS President Milorad Dodik thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for "Russia's principled stance" which voted against the Resolution on Genocide in Srebrenica at the UN General Assembly.

Dodik met with Putin this afternoon in the Russian city of St. Petersburg on the sidelines of the International Economic Forum.

During the meeting, Putin stated that Russia is not changing its stance regarding the Dayton Agreement, adding that "Dayton is the basis for preserving the situation in BiH, as well as for development".

Dodik met with Putin at a time of the latest political crisis in BiH, caused by the actions of the RS authorities after the adoption of the Resolution on Genocide in Srebrenica by the UN General Assembly.

The RS Government has appointed a working group to prepare a proposal for an agreement on "peaceful separation" in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

RTRS reports that before the meeting with Putin, Dodik also announced that he would ask the Russian President to "consider how RS could ensure its presence" at the BRICS Forum.

BRICS is an organization of a group of countries comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

Dodik was also presented with a medal for developing cooperation in St. Petersburg on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the Presidential Library named after former Russian President Boris Yeltsin.

This is Dodik's fifth meeting with Putin since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and their tenth meeting overall since 2014.

Dodik and Putin last met in February of this year in the city of Kazan in the Republic of Tatarstan, which is part of the Russian Federation.

At that time, Dodik said that RS refuses to join Western sanctions against Russia despite, as he stated, daily pressures, and that it does not want to join NATO.