The U.S. Treasury Department reported that the United States targeted ten individuals on Thursday in a new round of sanctions aimed at containing Russian influence in the western Balkans. The department also imposed sanctions on 20 entities, including 11 based in Russia, in line with executive orders concerning the western Balkans and Russia, according to the Treasury's website.
The other sanctioned entities are located in North Macedonia, Liberia, and the United Arab Emirates. Three oil tankers registered in Liberia were also targeted. The Treasury stated that the sanctions related to the western Balkans are the latest U.S. measures against politicians, other individuals, and organizations aimed at containing Russian efforts to prevent the region's integration into international institutions.
Among those targeted by the sanctions is the Minister of Industry, Energy, and Mining in Dodik's government, Petar Djokic, who signed an agreement with his Croatian counterpart to build a pipeline from Croatia to a Russia-owned refinery in the Republic of Srpska.
The sanctions freeze all properties and other assets owned by the targets in the United States or controlled by U.S. citizens, and generally prohibit Americans from dealing with them. Those subject to the sanctions include individuals from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and North Macedonia. Among them is Savo Sviletinović, a senior official in the political party led by Milorad Dodik, the Russia-aligned leader of the Republic of Srpska, who is already under U.S. sanctions for alleged corruption and advocating the secession of the Serb-dominated part of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
