Western powers have formed at least three centres for the prevention of Russian influence in the Balkans and there are likely more, Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik told Serbia’s public broadcaster during a visit to Belgrade on Wednesday.

“The British Government said that it will provide six million pounds toward organised activities to prevent Russian influence in the Balkans, the US Government provided more than 20 million USD for that through various organisations, which they presented publicly,” said Milorad Dodik, the Serb member of Bosnia’s tripartite Presidency.

He said that an intelligence centre for preventing Russian influence was formed in Sarajevo by foreigners and people from Bosnia’s intelligence agency, who he argued should rather be protecting Bosnia and Herzegovina and its sovereignty.

“Those centres for preventing so-called Russian influence were formed in Sarajevo, Podgorica and Tirana. Those are the three centres in the Balkans. It's likely that another hidden one which can not be revealed yet operates here in Belgrade as well, but we know about it,” Dodik said.

He alleged that there are also various similar organisations in Banja Luka, the administrative centre of Bosnia’s Serb-dominated region of Republika Srpska (RS), adding that certain ambassadors meet with opposition politicians and NGO representatives but not with government representatives.

He also said that it was unfortunate that Republika Srpska does not have its own intelligence agency, a competency which he argued was “stolen and moved” to the state level through “illegal decisions” by the international administrators in Bosnia and that now the state agency “works against Republika Srpska and Serbia.”