site.btaSerbian President Vucic Travels to Banja Luka for Sentencing of Bosnian Serb Leader Milorad Dodik

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is travelling to Banja Luka on Wednesday evening because of the conviction of Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, TANJUG reports.

Earlier, the Bosnian Serb leader was given an effective prison sentence of one year and banned from politics for six years for his separatist actions.

Dodik said he would not submit to any sentence and threatened "radical measures" in response, including the possible secession of Republika Srpska, which has a majority Serb population, from the rest of Bosnia.

Dodik has invited Vucic in a telephone conversation to visit the capital of Republika Srpska, Banja Luka, Serbian media reported.

"First I got a call from Aleksandar Vucic, who said he was with us, and then Orban (Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban)," Dodik was quoted by RTS as saying.

An emergency meeting of the National Security Council is scheduled in Belgrade, local media also said.

The verdict given to the Bosnian Serb leader was in the first instance and is subject to appeal.

The landmark decision of the court in Sarajevo comes after a year-long trial against Dodik on charges that he defied the highest representative of the international community who monitors peace in the Balkan country.

The leader and his lawyers were not in court during the sentencing. Dodik has said he will not submit to any verdict and has threatened "radical measures" in response, including the possible secession of the predominantly Serb area from the rest of Bosnia. It is unlikely Dodik will be sent to prison as he enjoys the full support of Vucic, who can provide him with asylum in Belgrade. Dodik is also expected to appeal the sentence.