Bosnia's Serb Republic to boost Russian gas imports - report

Recognising the industry's demand for gas supplies and acknowledging gas as the most stable energy resource, the intent is to further increase gas supplies to the Serb Republic, Dodik said in an interview with Russian newspaper Izvestia.

In the interview, Dodik confirmed that the Serb Republic signed an agreement with Russia's Gazprom last year to receive gas until 2025, with payments for the supplies being made in rubles. The Russian gas is flowing to Bosnia via Turkey, Bulgaria and Serbia.

Last year, Bosnia's government approved an agreement with Serbia for a Gazprom-funded gas pipeline from Serbia's border to Bosnia's Novi Grad, but the contract awaits approval from Bosnia's Council of Ministers and presidency, facing opposition from Bosniak and Croatian members, local news provider Radio Free Europe reported earlier.

Local media also reported earlier that Russia plans to invest in a project worth over 1.5 billion euro ($1.6 billion) for the construction of two gas-fired power plants of 600 MW each in the Serb Republic.

According to the US-brokered Dayton peace agreement that put an end to the war in Bosnia in the 1990s, the country is divided into two entities - the Serb Republic (mostly populated by ethnic Serbs) and the Federation (majority populated by Bosniaks and Croats), covering 49% and 51% of the country's territory, respectively.

The Federation and the Serb Republic have their own governments and parliaments and are linked by a weak central government. An international overseeing body holds the supreme authority in the country.

Dodik, leader of Bosnia's Serbs, is under U.S. and British sanctions.

($ = 0.923 euro)