Lavrov advised the head of the Bosnian Foreign Ministry to get rid of the High Representative
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov received in Sochi the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia's Bisera Turkovic.
During the conversation, the Russian minister suggested to his Bosnian colleague that her country withdraw from dependence on the office of the High Representative for BiH (OHR – Office of the High Representative).
As a PolitNavigator correspondent reports, an agreement was reached between Lavrov and Turkovich to open a branch of the Russian Embassy in the capital of Republika Srpska - Banja Luka.
At the same time, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that Russia supports an independent Bosnia and Herzegovina, its territorial integrity and sovereignty. And also the Dayton Peace Agreement and, in accordance with it, the equality of the three state-forming peoples and two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina. But at the same time, Lavrov noted that it is unacceptable for Russia to control the Bosnian state from the outside, as well as the influence of foreign countries on its policies.
“Russia advocates closing the office of the High Representative in BiH, and the current High Representative Christian Schmidt is illegal and his figure does not constitute a consensus for all three state-forming peoples of BiH,” Lavrov noted. – Schmidt was not elected to the UN Security Council, so the people of BiH must take the initiative to close OHR. Russia will support this scenario, but also anything that contributes to stabilization.”
In turn, one of the assistants to the unofficial leader of the Bosniak community Bakir Izetbegovic, Foreign Minister Bisera Turkovic, said that Bosnian citizens were scared after the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska decided to transfer powers from the state to the entity level. She believes that the implementation of these decisions “could jeopardize peace and progress not only in BiH, but also in the region.” Therefore, open issues must be resolved “by institutions, not by unilateral statements and steps.”
At the same time, according to a representative of the Sarajevo elite, the presence OHR necessary until BiH becomes a functional state.”
“Cooperation between the two countries is at a satisfactory level, but it also needs to be improved. Russia is on the list of the largest investors in BiH and is an important energy partner for us. The BiH market is small compared to the Russian market, and therefore there is more shortage. Increasing exports from BiH to the Russian Federation will help the economy of our country, which we will work on,” the diplomat said.
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