The visit that Bosnia's Presidency Chairman Milorad Dodik will make to Serbia on Thursday, the day when Russia's President is visiting that country, is private and not official, Presidency member Sefik Dzaferovic told N1.

“It is about bilateral relations of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Serbia. Bosnia and Herzegovina should not be a topic of those meetings,” said Dzaferovic.

Bosnia has a tripartite Presidency, consisting of representatives of three major ethnic groups who are also representatives of the country's two semi-autonomous entities. The Bosniak and the Croat members are elected from the Federation (FBiH), while the Serb member is voted in Republika Srpska (RS) entity.

Serb leader Milorad Dodik was elected in the last October election to represent RS and was the first in the line to take the Presidency chairmanship having won the largest number of votes among the three members.

According to the Presidency's rules of procedure, the Presidency Chairman represents the institution and the country in foreign relations, however, it can represent the Presidency's stances in Bosnia and abroad with the consent of all three members.

Dodik's trip to Belgrade is private, according to Bosniak Presidency member Dzaferovic.

“If we want, and I say here that I do, to build the relations with the Russian Federation, then we have to do that from the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mr Dodik's trip for that meeting is private, it does not reflect the policy of Bosnia and Herzegovina at all nor anything he might do could reflect the stances of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Dzaferovic said for N1.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin is set to pay an official visit to Belgrade on Thursday, January 17.