Dodik: I will hand over the icon if Ukraine proves it requested it before December 14

(Patria) - Chairman of the BiH Presidency Milorad Dodik announced that he will hand over the icon that is the subject of dispute after he first gifted it to Sergey Lavrov, the head of Russian diplomacy on December 14, who, after Ukraine's reaction that it was stolen, returned the icon to the donor, but under one condition.

"If Ukraine proves that it requested the icon before the date I had a meeting with the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov, I will accept to hand it over. However, it is only important here to be attacked, just like Dragan Čović /leader of HDZ/ and his associates. All this speaks volumes about the judiciary in BiH," Dodik stated for Srna.

He reiterated that the situation in the BiH judiciary is catastrophic and that individuals would be satisfied if several officials from RS were sentenced to multi-year prison terms.

"An example of this is the icon, around which a whole campaign is constantly being waged, although Ukraine does not claim it. There is a statement from the Agency for Coordination of Police Bodies of BiH, which is responsible for cooperation with Interpol, that Interpol has no information about the icon being sought," he said.

He said that he never received an answer from Ukraine whether they are looking for the icon, nor were any data related to it provided.

We remind you that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine requested information from BiH on how the icon ended up in BiH, claiming that it is a stolen icon from Luhansk, a part of the territory occupied by Russia.

Although the BiH Prosecutor's Office formed a case regarding the icon, it has not requested Interpol's assistance in this case to date. Today marks exactly one month since Lavrov's visit to BiH and the scandal Dodik caused by gifting the icon. In recent diplomacy, it has not been recorded that anyone has ever returned a gift, and it has special significance that it concerns one of the most important world diplomats.