Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic expressed concern over the sanctions imposed against Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidency Member Milorad Dodik by the US Treasury.

“I am very concerned over the sanctions against Dodik and others in the Republika Srpska (RS) because of the way they were imposed and even more so because of the explanation that Alternativna TV is part of a system of corruption while the people buying football clubs are,” Vucic told reporters at a reception for Serb children from Croatia, alluding to the purchase of Southampton FC by United Group co-founder Dragan Solak’s Sport Republic.

Vucic said that he spoke to Dodik and RS President Zeljka Cvijanovic and added that Serbia will not impose sanctions against the legitimate and legal representatives of the Serb people in the RS. Vucic said that the complex issue is not something that requires and urgent reaction, “certainly not hasty”. “Serbia is not happy about this nor does it believe that the solution lies in sanctions and there is no doubt that Serbia will not agree on any point and will not implement sanctions against its people and the representatives of the Serb people in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the RS,” Vucic said.

He said that the decision to impose sanctions on the Dodik-affiliated Alternativna TV was terrible. “We will have a lot of questions about the behavior of other media and links to crime and corruption,” he said.