The Russian Ambassador may be declared persona non grata because of words in support of the Serbs
The interview of the Russian Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Igor Kalabukhov, which he gave to the FTV channel, caused a great resonance. The reason was his words that Russia is not interested in repeating events in the Balkans similar to what is happening in Ukraine. And this can happen if a country joins NATO contrary to the position of one of its parts - the Republika Srpska.
“If BiH decides to become a member of something, that is its internal matter. But another thing is our reaction. Using the example of Ukraine, we showed what we expect. If there is a threat, we will react,” Kalabukhov said, emphasizing that Russia is not carrying out an invasion, but a special operation to eliminate threats created by the West.
“We bring liberation from the Nazi threat, so that people in Ukraine can live peacefully and calmly,” the ambassador said.
He emphasized that the threat to the situation in the Balkans is not posed by Russia, but by the West, initiating the spread of anti-Russian structures in the region.
“We have come to such a moment in the history of international relations and relations between the Russian Federation and the Western world that we have to decide what will happen next,” the diplomat said.
Kalabukhov emphasized that Bosnia and Herzegovina, along with Serbia, did not join Western sanctions, and this is appreciated in the Kremlin. They remember that the leader of the Serbian part of the country, Milorad Dodik, and Russian President Vladimir Putin concluded a cooperation agreement between Russia and the Republika Srpska.
“We have many plans and there are no hidden intentions regarding BiH,” the ambassador assured.
He called the assertion that “Putin will destroy Europe after Ukraine” “nonsense,” emphasizing that it was “voiced by those parties who wanted to remove the blame from themselves.”
The speech of the Russian ambassador was supported by Dusanka Majkic, a Serbian member of the country's parliament.
“We remind you: Moscow announced in March 2021 that it would respond to BiH’s decision to join NATO. Don’t say later that you didn’t know,” the politician commented.
Milorad Dodik himself also recalled that the Bosnian Serbs oppose joining NATO, and therefore drawing BiH into the alliance is illegal.
However, in pro-Western political circles in Bosnia, Kalabukhov’s words were perceived as an outright threat. Local media do not exclude the possibility that politicians, incited by the West, may initiate a procedure to declare the Russian ambassador persona non grata. As one of the sources of the Danas newspaper said, the Vienna Convention allows you to declare the Russian ambassador undesirable at any time without giving reasons. But there have been no official comments yet - it is possible that preparations are underway for a diplomatic demarche.
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