FILE PHOTO: Serb candidate for President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) attends a pre-election rally in Gradiska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, September 28, 2022. REUTERS/Dado RuvicREUTERS
BANJA LUKA, Bosnia (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin was awarded in absentia by Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik on Sunday, during a ceremony marking the Bosnian autonomous Serb Republic’s national holiday.
Putin was awarded the medal for the “particular patriotic care and love towards Republika Srpska” and merits in developing and strengthening cooperation and political relations between “friendly states of Republika Srpska and the Russian Federation”, moderators said.
The Serb Republic is a region that makes up Bosnia along with the autonomous Bosniak-Croat Federation.
Dodik, the region’s separatist president who has long favoured ties with Russia over those with the West, praised Putin for being a reliable support to the Serb Republic and said he would present the medal to him at their next meeting.
“Thanks to the position of Vladimir Putin and the strength of the Russian Federation, the voice and position of Republika Srpska has been heard and respected,” he said.
