Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Dmitry Medvedev, the president of the United Russia party, expressed concerns regarding the "erosion of the Dayton principles governing Bosnia & Herzegovina's internal organisation" in letters to Milorad Dodik, the pro-Russian President of Republika Srpska.

The letters were revealed at a time when tensions in Bosnia are increasingly as Dodik repeatedly challenges the authority of the country's state-level institutions and threatens that Republika Srpska will secede. There have been fears since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 that Moscow could stir up tensions in the Western Balkans to put additional pressure on the West. 

In the letters, published by Dodik on October 2, the two Russian politicians express support for Dodik and accuse the West of breaching the Dayton peace accord that ended the 1992-1995 Bosnian war.

“We are watching with concern as Western actors persistently undermine the Dayton principles of Bosnia & Herzegovina's internal organisation, and we are witnessing active attempts to curtail the inalienable constitutional rights of its constituent peoples. It is evident that Republika Srpska, you personally, and your associates are under attack because you defend the legitimate and international interests of the Serb people, resisting the West's neo-colonial policies,” Lavrov wrote in his letter.

Dodik is on trial for violating state laws by putting into force several controversial and banned laws in Repblika Srpska, which, along with the Muslim-Croat Federation, comprise Bosnia. The two entities are autonomous but there are also state-level joint institutions that can block moves that breach the constitution or the Dayton accord.

“We point out that we are committed [as a state that is guarantor of the Dayton accord] to carry out a principled and responsible approach to defend the Dayton agreement, strengthening peace in the Balkans, and fostering equal and mutually beneficial cooperation with Republika Srpska,” Lavrov also wrote.

Former Russian president Medvedev also expressed Russia’s deep concern from the developments in the Balkans and in Bosnia, saying that Moscow has been observing “the revival of former colonial practices by the West, which seeks to establish total control over the peoples of the region and turn them into unwilling, disenfranchised satellites”.

He praised the Serbs for opposing Western policies and defending their national interests.

“In fact, you personally are on the front line of this new stage of the national liberation struggle, bravely resisting external pressure that often crosses all imaginable moral, ethical, and legal boundaries,” Medvedev wrote.

“I am certain that with joint efforts the Russian and Serb peoples will bring the triumph of traditional values, equality of rights, and creative cooperation,” Medvedev added.

Dodik thanked the two Russian politicians for their support. The secessionist Bosnian Serb leader is among the most loyal international allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin.