Bosnia-Herzegovina's ethnic Serb-dominated entity Republika Srpska plans to increase its gas imports from Russia as the industry needs more supplies, the separatist leader of the Bosnian region told Russia's Izvestia newspaper in remarks published on Monday.

The pro-Russian leader Milorad Dodik is the president of Republika Srpska – an entity that makes up Bosnia-Herzegovina along with the autonomous Bosniak-Croat Federation, linked via a weak central government.

"We have an industry that is in need of gas supplies," Dodik, who is under U.S. and British sanctions, told Izvestia in an interview.

"At the same time, gas remains the most stable energy resource; therefore, we intend to increase the volume of gas supplies."

Without revealing details, Dodik said that an agreement on gas supplies was signed with Russia's major gas producer, Gazprom, last year until 2025.

"Gazprom is a very reliable partner for us and we are very pleased that it has singled us out as partners in our region," Izvestia cited Dodik as saying.