Minister Lavrov's positions are incomprehensible and unacceptable

Dr. Mustafa Cerić, an independent candidate for the Bosniak member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, reacted to the recent statement by the head of Russian diplomacy, Sergey Lavrov, to the Russian media that any change to the Dayton Agreement is a "dangerous thing", reports the BH News Agency Patria.

- We expected Russian diplomacy, as one of the guarantors of the Dayton Agreement and a member of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC), to influence the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina to be freed from the stigma of structural discrimination imposed by the Dayton Agreement, in the spirit of the traditional democratic values of the Russian people, using its authority. That agreement stopped the bloodshed, but ultimately resulted in structural discrimination, meaning ethnic groups such as Jews, Roma, Albanians, and others are not equal in the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina because, according to the letter and spirit of that agreement, they cannot be elected to state positions," stated Dr. Cerić, adding that those who believe the Dayton Agreement should evolve are "motivated by moral responsibility and political maturity, as well as high standards of democracy and human rights in the 21st century - it was announced.

Therefore, Minister Lavrov's positions on the Dayton Agreement as a fait accompli are incomprehensible and unacceptable, as they advocate for structural discrimination based on race, ethnicity, and religion.

- Minister Lavrov should know that the Dayton Agreement is fiscally unsustainable, morally questionable, and politically dysfunctional. Therefore, we expect him to correct his stance towards that document with his influence and responsibility for signing and implementing the Dayton Agreement, and to influence the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina to be freed from structural discrimination that has never been part of its tradition and culture, nor its political practice, and to use his authority to influence those who cannot give up their nationalistic, exclusive political views - Dr. Cerić conveyed.

He added that it should be clear to Minister Lavrov, as well as to all well-intentioned people in the world, that Bosnia and Herzegovina is a European country with a thousand-year tradition of statehood, but with a modern outlook on the world, which presupposes every individual's right to life, faith, freedom, property, and honor.

- The priority of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina is to preserve the security of its citizens, their lives, freedom, property, and honor, as well as to complete the European security project. The sovereignty, territorial integrity, and international subjectivity of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina are unquestionable. The issue of peace and security in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a European, or rather, a Euro-Atlantic issue, and there is no doubt about it, because Bosnia and Herzegovina is a European country and its policy is European policy, which implies close intra-European solidarity and extra-European cooperation - Dr. Cerić believes.

Since Russia is partly a European country, it is understandable that the positions of Russian diplomacy are important for Bosnia and Herzegovina, but they also carry great responsibility, especially in the area of respecting the statehood of Bosnia and Herzegovina and affirming human rights.

- Russian diplomacy should know that genocide occurred in Bosnia and Herzegovina against the Bosniak people, for which there are valid international verdicts, and therefore the issue of peace and security for the Bosniak people is a top priority, which means that Bosniaks should and can find consensus with the other two constituent peoples regarding the status of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina in military alliances, such as NATO, which operates in the context of European peace and security and will ensure that genocide never happens again - emphasized Dr. Cerić.

Therefore, we expect Russian diplomacy to understand this sensitivity of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina and not to show any bias towards any ethnic community through its policy, especially when it comes to the peace and security of our country, as well as the peace and security of all of Europe.