Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán welcomed Milorad Dodik, President of the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Budapest on Tuesday, according to Dodik's latest post on X. At home, Dodik was las week sentenced to one year in prison and barred from holding public office for six years due to his failure to comply with the decisions of High Representative Christian Schmidt.
In a post on Monday, Orbán wrote that Hungary doesn't recognize the court ruling against Dodik. He said it was unacceptable that EU-appointed representatives were "trying to remove him because he is opposed to the globalist agenda." In his post, Orbán also reaffirmed that he considers Dodik to be the elected leader of the Republika Srpska and that he opposes any EU interference in the matter.
In a post published on Tuesday in a closed Facebook group of his supporters, Orbán hinted that Milorad Dodik would be coming for a visit to Budapest that day. Until 1 p.m., there was no mention of the visit on the website of the Hungarian state news agency, MTI, or Orbán's Facebook page, but Dodik posted about it on X, writing: “Today I came to visit my friend Viktor Orbán, who stands clearly and courageously for the will of the people, democracy and sovereignty. I am grateful for the support he has given to the RS and that he stands for respecting the will of the people, as opposed to what is being forced upon us by those who have not been elected by anyone. Our goal is shared: to stop the abuse of the justice system and the self-serving actions of the deep state. The end of all of that is near. The power of the people is going to return to Europe, and with it, justice. Freedom will prevail, democracy will prevail!”
The last time Viktor Orbán hosted Milorad Dodik was at the beginning of June. At the time, Dodik was a wanted man in his own country. The Bosnian Serb politician had been charged with failing to comply with or implement, as well as with obstructing the decisions of the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the charges, Dodik refused to take into account the decisions of Christian Schmidt, the High Representative overseeing the delicately structured state and signed a law rejecting the institution and powers of the High Representative.
In the 1990s, Bosnia and Herzegovina was ravaged by a bloody civil war, which ended with the creation of an extremely complex state structure consisting of two entities and, within them, cantons of different ethnicities as well as some with mixed populations. The high representative is responsible for ensuring peace between the different ethnic groups, which are in fact communities organized along religious lines. This position is currently held by Christian Schmidt, whose instructions Dodik, a nationalist, has refused to comply with.
For more quick, accurate and impartial news from and about Hungary, subscribe to the Telex English newsletter!