Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik returned to Banja Luka without incident after his trip to Moscow, despite an arrest warrant issued by a Bosnian court. According to Croatian website Index.hr, Dodik had been on a three-day visit to Moscow, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and announced plans to return for the May 9 celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the victory over fascism.

During an interview with Republika Srpska public television RTRS, Dodik proudly revealed that Interpol had withdrawn the Bosnian court’s request for an international arrest warrant against him. Dodik, who is considered a fugitive from justice in Bosnia, had been subject to an internal arrest warrant and was ordered to be detained for a month after failing to respond to a summons from Bosnia's prosecutor’s office for questioning related to an investigation into the country’s constitutional order.

Dodik had been sentenced by a Bosnian court on February 26 to a one-year prison term and a six-year ban from political activity for defying the decisions of the international community’s high representative, Christian Schmidt. The Republika Srpska parliament responded swiftly by passing laws banning central Bosnian institutions from operating within its territory. On March 17, a Bosnian court issued an arrest warrant for Dodik and two other members of the Republika Srpska parliament.

Although Dodik was not arrested when he left Bosnia and Herzegovina, the border police continue to investigate how he managed to cross the border undetected. The arrest warrant had also been issued for Nenad Stevandić, the Speaker of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, and Radovan Višković, the Prime Minister of Republika Srpska, who are also suspected of undermining Bosnia’s constitutional order. Interpol’s decision regarding the red notice for Dodik and Stevandić, both of whom traveled freely in and out of Bosnia in the weeks after the warrant was issued, is still awaited.

The Bosnian court had requested Interpol to include Dodik on its list of wanted persons, but the organization rejected the request, citing Article 3 of its statute, which prohibits intervention in politically sensitive matters. Dodik, however, expressed his satisfaction with the decision, remarking that he had expected it but had some reservations. He thanked various countries and leaders, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Serbia, Montenegro, Russia, and others, for their support.

Dodik explained that he had traveled by car and was not stopped at the border. He added that he plans to travel outside Bosnia and Herzegovina again soon. Under the Dayton Peace Agreement, which ended the Bosnian War (1992-1995), Bosnia is divided into two semi-autonomous regions: Republika Srpska, which is predominantly Bosnian Serb, and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, made up of Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats. Each region has its own government, parliament, and police, but both are bound by common national institutions, including the judiciary, army, security services, and tax administration.