RS loses Russia's support, Ivancov signs PIC communique

Russia, quite unexpectedly, is a signatory to the communique of the Peace Implementation Council Steering Board from the day before yesterday, which also included positions contrary to the official policy of Republika Srpska, writes Serbian Blic, reported by Patria News Agency.

According to the report, Russian Ambassador to BiH Petr Ivancov did not distance himself from the formulation "genocide in Srebrenica," which is mentioned in one part of the communique. He also, along with other political directors, supported the activation of the NATO Membership Action Plan.

The Russian Ambassador did not express a dissenting opinion during the discussion on the rule of law, and High Representative to BiH Valentin Inzko emphasized after the session that the communique was adopted unanimously and that the Steering Board paid special attention to the behavior of "some politicians from Republika Srpska who sought political capital precisely by challenging the rule of law."

That discussion also led to a call for strict adherence to the decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH. It is particularly interesting that the Russian Ambassador supports the communique at a time when "Republika Srpska is trying to preserve January 9th as the Day of the Republic, for which a Declaration on the Protection of the Law on Holidays of RS was also adopted. The Declaration states that RS will not accept the decision of the Constitutional Court of BiH on the appeal of the Bosniak member of the Presidency of BiH, Bakir Izetbegović, if the Day of the Republic is challenged."
The Russian Ambassador's positions are even more inexplicable, considering that Russia is constantly mentioned in the statements of RS officials as its greatest friend and an alternative to the European Union. Russia is also expected to provide assistance in case a resolution on Srebrenica proposed by Great Britain reaches the United Nations Security Council. Russia, at least according to the wishes of official RS, should veto it to prevent the adoption of the Resolution.

Miloš Šolaja, a professor of international relations at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Banja Luka, says that it is evident that something is changing on the international stage, as such positions are at odds with certain policies both within and outside of RS.
Šolaja believes that this is a strong warning that RS, among other things, must start engaging differently with the European Union, America, or, for example, Turkey, and that the time has come for a different construction of overall relations in BiH.

- We are used to Russia and Turkey usually disagreeing with certain positions in statements after sessions, but now a consensus has been reached. This is probably not just the opinion of the Russian Ambassador to BiH, but also a fact that Russia's positions are changing on the international stage, and it might be under pressure due to its relations with Ukraine. Republika Srpska must monitor all of this more seriously - says Šolaja.