SBiH: Kalabuhov directly impacts and attacks the state and its institutions

(Patria) - The Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina (SBiH) considers the reaction of the Russian Embassy in BiH after the meeting with representatives of the American Embassy held in the Parliament of the Federation of BiH unacceptable.

"The right of every party, regardless of meetings, is to independently decide on all agenda items that come before the Parliament, which is why we believe there was no need for such a reaction.

The way the Russian ambassador to BiH, Igor Kalabuhov, acts, directly impacting and attacking the state and its institutions of BiH, is unacceptable. Especially when it comes to the energy sector, i.e., the gas supply of the Federation of BiH, which has been using exclusively Russian gas for several decades, such a reaction from the Russian Embassy is even more surprising, as it is not customary even in the business world towards a long-term business partner.

Your embassy should be aware that the Federation of BiH is dependent on a single gas pipeline of limited capacity, through which gas enters our country via Zvornik, and on whose capacities the RS entity, without any consultation with the Federation of BiH as the largest gas consumer, is developing a new network towards Pale and Jahorina, thereby endangering Sarajevo as the capital city for the simple reason of the existing gas pipeline's small capacity.

Furthermore, it is the right of the Federation of BiH to seek to diversify suppliers and reduce dependence on only one supply route, especially due to frequent blackmail and threats of turning off the gas by the transport company from the Republika Srpska entity.

What is particularly concerning from your statement is the threatening tone towards the citizens of our country and the comparison with the situation in Ukraine, where war is raging today. Also, the claims 'that this meeting in Parliament planted a bomb under the integrity of the state of BiH' are completely unnecessary because a working meeting, regardless of the topic, cannot in any way be a reason for that, unless you believe that our country has no right at all to decide and choose from whom, when, and how much energy to buy.

Your claims that the meeting in Parliament excludes one constituent people, the Croats, from the decision-making process are also unfounded because the Parliament does not make its decisions at such meetings but exclusively at sessions convened in accordance with the Constitution and laws, and no one can be excluded from those sessions, including representatives of the Croatian people.

Regardless of the above, we believe that you, as the embassy of the Russian Federation, should not take any position or side on internal political issues in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is often the case when openly supporting the destructive policy of Milorad Dodik. We believe that as a state that was one of the first to recognize the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina, you should remain within the framework of established diplomatic relations and not engage in threats such as those presented in your statement," states SBiH.