The Russian ambassador to BiH accused the US ambassador of “outright lies”
Russian Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Igor Kalabukhov commented on the statement of US Ambassador Eric Nelson that Russia will not allow this country to join NATO.
Kalabukhov called the American’s words “a pure lie,” since Moscow, according to him, unlike Washington, does not interfere in the “sovereign choice” of BiH, the PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
Kalabukhov told the Sarajevo portal Klix.ba that every time he hears the phrase “malignant influence of Russia” in Bosnia, he gets the strong impression that “something evil has happened in the minds of those who talk about it.”
“BiH, which we consider a friendly country, has a sovereign right to choose,” Kalabukhov said. – And there may be a choice in favor of joining NATO, although it is clear that there is no consensus on this issue in the country, and the current situation is significantly different from the 2000s. Russia has every right to respond to this hypothetical development of events in accordance with its national interests.”
At the same time, according to the Russian ambassador, Russia is not imposing anything on BiH. Speaking about the Office of the High Representative (OHR), the diplomat said that “Western partners staged a circus in connection with the replacement of the High Representative.”
“Not to mention the fact that the Steering Council of the Council for the Implementation of the Peace (Dayton – ed.) Agreement, under pressure from Washington, violates not only the spirit, but also the word of the peace agreement, each time distorting its text in its statements,” Kalabukhov said. “Not only Russia, but also all sober observers in the West talk about the harmfulness of OHR.”
The Russian ambassador referred to a recent article by the first High Representative, Carl Bildt, calling for the closure of the OHR and an end to the “archaic foreign protectorate in BiH.” He expressed the opinion that the continued presence of a Western overseer leads to destabilization of the situation not only in BiH, but throughout the entire Balkan region.
“The blame is laid, as usual, on a completely different person (Milorad Dodik – ed.). Sanctions are applied as part of the “instruction”, without trial or investigation. At the same time, those who are now looking forward to the recently introduced restrictions should keep in mind that they may also affect them - if Washington wants to punish someone “for corruption,” noted the Russian Ambassador to BiH.
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