- Early Presidential Elections in Republika Srpska Announced
On August 28, the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Bosnia and Herzegovina announced early elections for the president of Republika Srpska (RS) for November 23 of this year. Four members of the CEC voted for this decision, while two were against it.
The decision to call early presidential elections in the RS was made after the court confirmed the CEC of BiH’s decision to terminate Milorad Dodik’s presidential mandate on August 18.
* * *
At the same time, a day earlier, the National Assembly of Republika Srpska (NSRS) rejected the possibility of holding early presidential elections in the RS. On August 22, the NSRS adopted the Information regarding the decision of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina to terminate the mandate of the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, and a Resolution regarding this information.
The documents adopted by the NSRS emphasize that the National Assembly does not accept and rejects the unconstitutional verdict of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, issued against the President of Republika Srpska, as well as the decision of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina to terminate the mandate of the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik.
The NSRS rejects the possibility of holding early elections for the president of Republika Srpska and asks all political entities in Republika Srpska, political parties, and individuals not to register for any early presidential elections. The Union of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) of Milorad Dodik has already announced a boycott of the elections. “The SNSD will not register and will not participate in these elections. …There will be no elections in the RS,” said Dodik.
- Republika Srpska Plans Controversial Referendum
On August 22, the National Assembly of Republika Srpska adopted a decision to hold a referendum in the RS regarding the verdict of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina against the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, and the decision of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina to terminate his mandate. The referendum is scheduled for October 25.
The referendum question is as follows: “Do you accept the decisions of the unelected foreigner Christian Schmidt and the unconstitutional decisions of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, issued against the President of Republika Srpska, as well as the CEC’s decision to cancel the mandate of President of Serbia Milorad Dodik?”
Commenting on this step, Dodik told Serbian media that the upcoming referendum does not directly concern the independence of Republika Srpska but will be a “serious warm-up.”
- Dodik to Ask Russia to Veto EUFOR Althea Mandate in BiH
Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik announced in an interview with Russian media that he will ask Russia to veto the extension of the European Union military mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, EUFOR Althea, during the consideration of this issue in the UN Security Council. “I will ask our Russian friends to cancel the consent and veto the European international forces in the Security Council,” Dodik said.
Althea, the EUFOR military mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, began operating in 2004 when European Union forces replaced NATO troops.
Dodik considers the European military mission an “occupying international power” used as a threat against Serbs. “Most often, they were used as a threat to us, the Serbs, and as part of this occupying international power,” he noted.
“There is a local civilian administration of a foreigner named Schmidt (the High Representative of the international community, Christian Schmidt) and an armed part of this occupation called Althea. We want to remove both. And to remove them – we must be a separate state,” Dodik said. “To get rid of all this, we must demand the withdrawal of the occupying forces and the removal of foreigners from decision-making. This is not possible at the level of Bosnia and Herzegovina, so Republika Srpska must declare independence and create a governing mechanism that is completely independent of Sarajevo, the Bosnians, and the foreigners who live there,” he added.
With a request for help, Milorad Dodik, who was stripped of his mandate as President of Republika Srpska by the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina, will turn to “Russian friends” during a series of planned visits to Russia in the coming months.
“Soon I will go to Moscow, where I will hold meetings with influential people. I think that somewhere in October I will go to Russia again and will be able to meet with the Russian president again. And now I will go to call on our Russian friends to prepare for the UN General Assembly, I will ask them to clarify this situation and support us in our desire to hold a referendum and gain independence,” he said.
“First, we need to get rid of Althea, which is an armed occupation formation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. And we will do it, I will ask our Russian friends to help us,” Dodik said.
Given that the statements of the Bosnian Serb leader were made in Russian media, it can be assumed that his proposals regarding the termination of the EUFOR Althea mission are coordinated with the Russian leadership. It is not excluded that Russia will use (or is already using) the topic of the EU military mission’s mandate in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the discussion of European security, and, above all, the end of the war in Ukraine.
- Kosovo Parliament Elects Speaker After Months of Political Deadlock
On August 26, the Kosovo parliament finally elected a new speaker – it was a deputy from the “Self-Determination” (Vetëvendosje, LVV) Movement, Dimalj Baša. The LVV party of the current acting Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, won the parliamentary elections in February, but could not get a majority in the parliament.
This decision unblocked the parliament’s work after dozens of unsuccessful attempts to elect a speaker, which took place since the opening of the constituent parliamentary session in April.
Dimalj Baša received his higher education in the USA and worked in a congressman’s office. He has US citizenship. He became the fifth candidate for the position of speaker from the “Self-Determination” Movement. It took 58 meetings for the LVV candidate to finally get the support of the majority of deputies.
73 deputies voted for Baša, 30 were against, and eight abstained. In addition to votes from “Self-Determination,” from whose ranks he comes, Baša received the votes of deputies of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (Partia Demokratike e Kosovës, PDK) and, in part, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (Aleanca për Ardhmërinë e Kosovës, AAK). Deputies of the leading Serbian party in Kosovo, the “Serbian List,” voted against the election of Baša.
The leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, Memli Krasniqi, explained that his party supported Baša “to unblock the process,” although in a normal situation it would not have done so.
In his first speech in office, Baša called on the deputies to “work together despite political differences” and addressed Serbia with a call to recognize Kosovo’s independence.
Several deputy chairmen of the parliament from the opposition and minorities were also elected, but the vice speaker from the Serbian community was not. No candidate from the Serbian community, including the representative of the “Serbian List,” Slavko Simić, received the required number of votes. Members of the “Serbian List” party have already filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court in Pristina “due to a serious violation of the rights of the Serbian people.”
Thus, the election of Dimalj Baša allowed the Kosovo parliament to be unblocked and opened the way for the formation of a new government. However, disputes over the election of a deputy from the Serbian community indicate that the political situation in Kosovo remains unstable.
- Kosovo Authorities Open New Bridge in Mitrovica Despite Criticism
One of the two new bridges over the Ibar River in Kosovska Mitrovica, which are being built by the Kosovo authorities, has been opened to vehicle traffic.
The government of Kosovo emphasized that the construction of these bridges – one for pedestrians and one for vehicles – is intended to connect North Mitrovica, where Serbs live mainly, with South Mitrovica, where Albanians live, for better communication between the two parts of the ethnically divided city.
The construction of the bridges began on July 1. The government of Kosovo has allocated about three million euros for this project.
The two bridges are located next to the main bridge over the Ibar River, which divides the city into a northern part, inhabited mostly by Serbs, and a southern part, where Albanians live.
The main bridge between North and South Mitrovica was completely reconstructed a few years ago with money from the European Union, but it is closed to traffic and is constantly guarded by NATO forces in Kosovo, KFOR.
After the 1999 conflict, numerous incidents were recorded on this bridge between Albanians from South Mitrovica and Serbs from the northern part of the city.
The Serbian authorities criticized the opening of the new bridge over the Ibar.
The director of the government’s Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petković, said that the opening of the new bridge is “illegal” and that it represents a “new escalatory step that directly undermines peace in the north of Kosovo.”
In July, the leading Serbian party in Kosovo, the “Serbian List,” submitted a civil petition to representatives of the international community against the construction of bridges on the Ibar River.
Representatives of the international community also opposed the opening of the main bridge in Kosovska Mitrovica, stating that this issue should be resolved through dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.
The European Union announced that the construction of two new bridges over the Ibar River “has practical and political significance” and that any infrastructure project between North and South Mitrovica requires close coordination and dialogue of all involved communities.
- The Fate of NIS Remains Uncertain
The United States Department of the Treasury has postponed the application of sanctions against the Oil Industry of Serbia (Naftna Industrija Srbije, NIS) for the sixth time, this time until September 26.
“The ultimate goal is to remove NIS from the sanctions list of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury Department, which is a process that is independent of Serbia. We hope that the continuation of high-level negotiations between the US and Russia will contribute to progress on the entire package of US sanctions against Russian companies, as well as an agreement that can positively affect the removal of uncertainty regarding the “Oil Industry of Serbia” and the removal of companies from the sanctions list,” said the Minister of Mining and Energy of Serbia, Dubravka Đedović Handanović.
On January 10, the USA imposed sanctions against “Gazprom Neft” due to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. NIS was also included in the sanctions list, where “Gazprom Neft” had a controlling stake.
At the end of February, “Gazprom Neft” transferred 5.15% of NIS shares to “Gazprom.” Now, “Gazprom Neft” has 44.85% of NIS shares, and “Gazprom” has 11.3%. Another 29.87% of NIS shares are owned by Serbia, and the rest by minority shareholders.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić previously emphasized that Russia must completely exit NIS ownership, but rejected the idea of nationalization, stating that Belgrade “will not take Russian property.”
The director of “Srbijagas,” Dušan Bajatović, said at the beginning of August that Belgrade is ready to buy the company. But the Russian side clearly stated that NIS “is not for sale.”
Meanwhile, the company’s business performance is worsening: in the first half of 2025, NIS suffered losses of 30 million euros.
- Three People Arrested in Moldova for Allegedly Participating in Training in Russian Camps in BiH
Moldovan law enforcement officers have detained three men aged 27, 36, and 50 on suspicion of participating in subversive activities. According to the Organized Crime and Special Cases Prosecution Office (PCCOCS), they were trained in August 2024 in Russian camps on the territory of Republika Srpska (Bosnia and Herzegovina).
The purpose of these trainings, as stated by the prosecutors, was to prepare for mass riots during the presidential elections and the referendum in Moldova in the autumn of 2024. The detainees are accused of training in drone control, practicing forceful actions near government buildings and embassies, as well as training in clashes with the police.
According to the investigation, each participant was paid $300–400 for a “module,” and a person from Russia coordinated the scheme via Telegram.
Among the detainees are people with criminal pasts, one of whom was considered the unofficial leader of protests related to the banned pro-Russian “Shor” party. Ilan Shor himself, a fugitive businessman who now lives in Russia, is considered by Moldovan security experts to be the main organizer of the Balkan training camps.
This is the second series of arrests: in October 2024, seven people were detained on similar charges. The authorities of Republika Srpska, in turn, continue to deny the existence of such camps.
Moldova is intensifying its fight against pro-Russian networks, which, according to it, use the Balkans as a training ground for preparing riots. The arrests demonstrate the scale of the operations, in which the interests of local criminal groups and Russian structures are intertwined.
