Russian Embassy after PIC: Close OHR, NATO is not a goal

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The Embassy of the Russian Federation in Bosnia and Herzegovina did not participate in the two-day session of the Political Directors of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC). The reason for not attending the session, according to the Embassy, was that they do not recognize Christian Schmidt as the High Representative because he was "appointed outside the UN Security Council".

The Russian Embassy made quite shocking claims in its reaction, such as "BiH consists of entities", which is also claimed by politicians from RS. Furthermore, the Embassy once again clearly reiterated its opposition to the country joining NATO, concluding that there is no consensus on this matter, even though it is one of Bosnia and Herzegovina's main foreign policy priorities.

"We would like to draw attention to the fact that the Office of the High Representative (OHR) itself confirms the correctness of our argumentation. Namely, the conclusions regarding the independent annual audit report of November 26 this year, approved by the PIC, directly state that 'the PIC proposes a candidate for the position of High Representative. The UN Security Council, which approved the Dayton Peace Agreement and the deployment of the international military contingent in Bosnia and Herzegovina, approves the said candidacy'," stated the Embassy of the Russian Federation in BiH.

They added that they believe the reason for the internal political crisis in BiH lies in the subjective decisions of former High Representative Valentin Inzko and the refusal of PIC partners to respect the approved procedure for appointing the High Representative.

"We believe that the proposed communiqué from our Western partners contains a distortion of the letter of the Dayton Peace Agreement. We are forced to remind that according to Dayton, BiH does not include, but consists of two entities. We proceed from the premise that all problems in BiH should be resolved exclusively through dialogue between the Bosnian-Herzegovinian parties based on mutually acceptable compromises. This also applies to BiH's foreign policy priorities, including Euro-Atlantic integration, around which there is no consensus in the country. We insist that the mandate of the PIC within Dayton does not include ensuring BiH's membership in NATO," the Embassy stated.

The Russian Federation, as one of the witnesses to Dayton, advocates for the territorial integrity and actual sovereignty of BiH, they reminded.

"To achieve this goal, it is necessary to close the OHR as soon as possible, as it has become an obstacle to the democratic development of BiH. It is necessary to transfer all responsibility for the situation in the country to the citizens of BiH as soon as possible," concluded the reaction of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.