After Sergey Lavrov's visit: What is Russia to us

By Sead Omeragić

Sergey Lavrov, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, during his visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina, stated that he supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but that he is not for the demonization of Republika Srpska.

Republika Srpska is not demonized by Bosniaks and Croats, but rather by the political establishment in that part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Basic human rights, such as the right to language, are denied in RS. Chairman of the Presidency Bakir Izetbegović said that Lavrov was surprised by the information concerning the status of the Bosnian language in Republika Srpska. Minister Lavrov confirmed that he understands this, as Russians have problems with the denial of the Russian language in Ukraine.

BiH should certainly have correct relations with Russia, as long as Russia does not harm Bosnia and Herzegovina. Lavrov's messages were encouraging: He will support BiH and all its citizens, and citizens from RS should also follow his messages.

Although Russia has so far been spoken of as a country that generally does not have a correct stance towards BiH, recent history records different moments.

The leader of Serbia, Slobodan Milošević, in August 1991, supported the military putschists against President Boris Yeltsin. Due to Russia's previously extremely privileged relationship with Serbia, Moscow was completely shocked by Milošević's stance. The Russian president was angry about this outburst.

On Sunday Times, February 13, 1993, a text appeared: “US beefs up fleet as Russia agrees to protective strikes”. The Independent of April 28, 1993, published a text under the headline: “Triumphant Yeltsin joins anti-Serb chorus”. Then, in the same April, “Russia joins West in condemning Serbs”, “Kremlin decides to ditch Serb ally”, and The Observer wrote: “Russia turns deaf ear to cries of Serb nationalism”...

These are just some of the texts in Western media that indicate Russia was tired of being a “constant servant of a mad policy”, as Vitaly Churkin, Russia's envoy to the Balkans, called the leaders of Bosnian Serbs in May 1993, after the rejection of the Vance-Owen plan.

It has been forgotten that Russia approved the establishment of the Hague Tribunal, which successfully completed its mandate. During the vote on Security Council Resolution 827, precisely during Russia's presidency, on May 25, 1993, the establishment of the Hague Tribunal was voted for. It was the third court for trying war criminals after Nuremberg and Tokyo. It was a great historical moment to which Russia gave its seal.

When the US Congress voted to lift the arms embargo on the Bosnian government in July 1995, Russia merely “expressed regret”. There was no hint of Moscow's intention to violate Western sanctions imposed on Serbia in any way.

In his book “The Most Shameful Moment”, British publicist Brendan Simms writes that Yeltsin told the Serbs to accept the Vance-Owen plan, otherwise they would face “the danger of decisive measures to end the conflict... The Russian Federation will not protect those who resist the will of the international community... Serbian nationalists and other participants in the conflict who resort to force will face a strong blow in the UN,” Yeltsin said in the spring of 1993.

Brendan Simms confirms: “Yeltsin's special envoy to former Yugoslavia, Vitaly Churkin, supported airstrikes on April 19, 1994, saying: ‘It is time for Russia to stop all discussions with Bosnian Serbs. The time for talks is over’,” journalists Andrew Marshall and Tony Barber of The Independent noted Churkin's statement. Churkin added that the Russian side was “sick of the madness of war” and that the “Serbs have dragged Russia and the entire international community by the nose enough”.

- Bosnian Serbs must understand that in Russia they are dealing with a great power, not a banana republic – Minister of Foreign Affairs Churkin stated then. Bosnian Serbs erected a monument to Churkin in gratitude for the veto on the British resolution on Srebrenica from July 2015.

Can all citizens of BiH benefit from this support from Russia, clearly expressed by Minister Lavrov? The SNSD, with its policies, cannot achieve this. Neither can the SDS with Vukota Govedarica, who says he will follow Karadžić. With such policies, neither BiH nor its citizens of any nationality can fare well. Therefore, it is necessary for RS to have new, pro-European oriented young politicians, people like Adam Šukalo, Miroslav Brčko, Ognjen Tadić, Branislav Borenović, or Aleksandra Pandurević.

It could be said that the leaders of RS confront Russia in the EU without reasonable motives. Any substantial hostility between Russia and the European Union is absolutely questionable, despite the introduction of not very convincing sanctions. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of BiH, Igor Crnadak, even boasted that BiH was on Russia's side in the “war” between the EU and Russia.

Russia has never said that BiH should not be part of the EU. The current government of RS does not want to join the European Union because years of crime by them and their cronies would be exposed there. With Sergey Lavrov's statements, BiH-Russia relations have been reset in a way. However, the open pushing of Russia against the European Union, as interpreted by the leaders of RS, appears as a naive act of throwing “banana entity” peels under Minister Lavrov's feet.