Dodik plans to monetize his relationship with Trump by luring billions of dollars of investment to Bosnia, a country he calls a "failed state" with no future.
Donald Trump has been a boost for a number of leaders across the world, but few in Europe relish their alliance with the American president and his entourage as much as Milorad Dodik.
Ostracized by the European Union and sanctioned by the US, the most enduring politician in Bosnia-Herzegovina backed Trump from the start. Over the years as president of the Serb half of the country, he built ties with Trump's family and friends, got his US sanctions dropped in October and was among the only Balkan leaders to attend the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington.
Now Dodik plans to monetize the relationship by luring billions of dollars of investment to a corner of Europe where a three-decades-old peace accord remains fragile and to a country he calls a "failed state" with no future.
Talks are underway with US business partners including Bechtel Group Inc. on plans to build highways, hydroelectric power plants and other projects in the Serb-dominated Republika Srpska part of Bosnia, Dodik said in an interview last week. A company run by Trump's associates already plans to invest $1.8 billion in airports and gas infrastructure in the Muslim-dominated half of the country.
"I trust Trump as a person who can change narratives that were disastrous for Serbs and Republika Srpska," Dodik, 67, said in Banja Luka, the entity's capital. "The new administration has a new framework. They want to preserve peace and to do business here, and I trust them when they say they won't meddle in the internal matters of other countries."
Dodik, who also angered Europe for forging ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, holds no formal office at the moment after a deal to have sanctions lifted, but he remains the most powerful politician in Republika Srpska and is the president of its biggest party.
He's benefiting from the Trump family's business focus on the Balkans. Trump's oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., visited Banja Luka this month at the invitation of Dodik's son Igor, a businessman who potentially would succeed his father one day. Meanwhile, Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, plans to host an economic summit in the city in May.
Yet they are also eying business in a country where no amount of US money can keep it from fraying, according to Dodik, who wants Republika Srpska to be an independent state. He believes that could become more of a reality once Bosnia becomes a political as well as investment focus.
"The US has tried to build up Bosnia for the last 30 years," Dodik said. "They made Frankenstein instead of Einstein. The US still doesn't have the Balkans on its agenda. But the moment they do, I believe we will be a factor."
The ethnic war in Bosnia ended with the US-brokered Dayton peace accords in 1995, splitting the country of 3.2 million in two roughly equal parts, Republika Srpska and the Muslim-Croat Federation. While Washington kept close ties with the latter half, relations with Dodik's entity were rocky.
President Joe Biden imposed wide-reaching sanctions against Dodik, his family, political associates, and their businesses in 2023. Biden alleged Dodik, then president of Republika Srpska, and his allies used political positions to accumulate wealth through bribery and corruption.
Dodik is currently suing the US government, saying sanctions against him were illegal and imposed after he openly supported Trump, according to a Florida court filing.
The second Trump administration removed those sanctions and Dodik agreed to step down as president. The UK, Germany, Slovenia and Austria still impose sanctions against him and some of his aides, saying he is a threat to the region's security and bar him from their territory.
Yet Dodik remains very much in charge. He is still the president of the ruling party that controls almost two-thirds of the entity's parliament, travels abroad representing Bosnian Serbs and receives important visitors. The interview with Bloomberg took place in the presidential palace built in Art Deco style in the center of Banja Luka.
"We clearly differentiate between the criminal Biden administration and the Trump administration," said Dodik, who is widely expected to seek a return to power. "We understand when Trump says they will not meddle into other countries' internal affairs," and in Srpska we "are reading that this is about Bosnia-Herzegovina, a failed state that has no chance to survive," Dodik said.
The change of president in Washington has also allowed Bosnian Serbs to maintain their ties with Russia. Dodik makes frequent trips to Moscow to visit Putin and plans to attend the Victory Day parade on May 9. He said balancing US and Russia ties is possible because the two powers are "not as wide apart as the EU and Russia are."
While Bosnia-Herzegovina is formally recognized as an EU candidate country, talks haven't started and the reforms needed to join have stalled for years. Popular support for entry into the bloc is below 50% in the Serb entity.
"Europe has lost the values it used to promote, such as human rights, freedom of movement, competitiveness," said Dodik, who is studying English more intensely. "We said we want to join the European Union, but without processes imposed upon us."