Russia hands over 18th-century icon to BiH embassy

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Russia today handed over an 18th-century icon, gifted by BiH Presidency member Milorad Dodik to the Russian Foreign Minister, to the Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Moscow, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced, as reported by Nova.rs.

"In agreement with the donor, the icon was handed over to the Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Moscow on December 23. At the same time, it was recommended that partners use available legal mechanisms to clarify all circumstances of this case, including the origin of the mentioned artifact," the Russian MFA pointed out, as reported by Nova.rs.

Earlier, the Embassy of Ukraine in BiH sent a note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs requesting the return of the icon gifted by Dodik to Lavrov to Kyiv.

As is known, after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of BiH received a note from the Embassy of Ukraine, which requested additional information about the mentioned case, a case file was opened at the BiH Prosecutor's Office to clarify how the 300-year-old icon from Luhansk ended up in BiH and in the possession of BiH officials.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation also announced that the mentioned icon would be returned to clarify its origin with the help of Interpol.

The icon, suspected to have been taken out of Luhansk, a city in eastern Ukraine, was gifted to Lavrov by Dodik on December 14 during his visit to our country, after a meeting in East Sarajevo.