Lavrov after meeting with Dodik: We support the RS entity, on October 31 we will have uncomfortable questions for our partners

(Patria) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Moscow, as a guarantor of the Dayton Agreement, will continue to support the Bosnian entity Republika Srpska after a meeting with Milorad Dodik.

Lavrov emphasized that Moscow is committed to preserving the Dayton Agreement and the equality of entities and peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Lavrov stressed that in Republika Srpska, more than 12,000 students are learning the Russian language, and cooperation is also developing in the field of media. He added that the meeting was particularly symbolic because on September 9, the RS commemorates the victims of the NATO bombing from 1995.

According to his words, Russia is one of the guarantors of the Dayton Agreement and will continue to insist on preserving all its provisions.

„Dayton was approved by consensus in the UN Security Council. It guarantees the equality of Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks, as well as Republika Srpska and the Federation of BiH, with broad constitutional powers for the entities. The West is grossly violating all these principles, trying to turn BiH into a unitary state system with obedient institutions,“ Lavrov said.

He warned that such moves lead to the deepest political crisis in BiH in the last 30 years, with the risk of destabilizing the entire region.

Lavrov particularly criticized the High Representative in BiH, Christian Schmidt, calling him a „Gauleiter“ and reminding that his candidacy was not confirmed in the UN Security Council.

„Schmidt is actively helping the Constitutional Court of BiH, which, due to Western pressure, is under the control of the European Union. This prevents the local peoples, Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats, from deciding on their internal issues and balancing interests themselves,“ the Russian minister said.

Lavrov announced that Russia, when it chairs the UN Security Council in October, will specifically open the issue of implementing the Dayton Agreement.

„We will prepare in detail for the session on October 31, when there will be a meeting on BiH, and many of our partners will have to answer very unpleasant but lawful questions,“ he stated.

Milorad Dodik also addressed journalists, insulting and challenging the High Representative, linking him to Nazism and disputing his function. He blamed Germany for the situation in BiH.

Dodik said he asked Lavrov for Russia's help in closing the OHR. He also said he wants help regarding the composition of the Constitutional Court of BiH.

Dodik also said he supports the formation of a third entity in BiH with a Croatian majority within the FBiH, and that in that case, Republika Srpska will not make territorial concessions.

"We are aware of the initiatives we hear from other international friends to consider the situation of returning BiH to the basic Dayton postulates. We are not ready, and as far as I can see in that proposal, to make territorial concessions in that arrangement. And if there is an international consensus, we have no problem with that. We will continue to cooperate," Dodik said.

Dodik boasted that Republika Srpska has stopped all attempts to impose sanctions on Russia by BiH due to the aggression against Ukraine. He announced a referendum to "reject the occupation."

He also spoke about the continued presence of military forces of the EUFOR Althea mission, but said that the UN Security Council session will be an opportunity to position a rational approach regarding that mission in BiH.

"They are approved every year in the Security Council. We will continue consultations with Russia. I believe that the upcoming sessions are an exceptional opportunity to position a rational approach," Dodik said.

Lavrov also spoke about the judicial process against Dodik, stating that Russia condemns the attempt to remove Milorad Dodik from his position.