VERDICT HANDED DOWN TO PRESIDENT OF SRPSKA IS ILLEGAL

SARAJEVO, MARCH 28 /SRNA/ - The Embassy of the Russian Federation in BiH said that the first-instance verdict handed down to Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik is unlawful, and emphasized that the collection of "evidence" is just a banal repetition of pseudo-legal Anglo-Saxon theses the so-called legalists use to convince themselves that Christian Schmidt is the high representative.

The Russian Embassy says it is unfortunate that the unconstitutional Court of BiH allowed itself to be drawn into Anglo-Saxon provocations with only one goal – to antagonize the peoples of BiH and continue their "divide and conquer" policy, using BiH as a "social laboratory".

"And if the Frankenstein of war and conflict appears here again, it will be solely the fault of the Western warmongers and provocateurs," the Russian Embassy said.

The Russian Embassy also reminded of the key points of the political special operation of placing a foreign national in Sarajevo, including the resignation of Valentin Inzko, which is an unprecedented case in Dayton practice, when he was simultaneously both the High Representative and not the High Representative.

"There is also the search for new candidates, including some very exotic ones – Angela Merkel's proposal to appoint Christian Schmidt as the high representative, as well as the refusal of the `Westerners` to follow the procedure for his approval within the Steering Board," says a press release.

The Russian Embassy also points to the unprecedented "voting" in the Steering Board, disregarding Russia’s opinion as one of the guarantors of the Dayton Agreement.

"In essence, this is the disregard of the UN Security Council," the Russian Embassy emphasizes.

The Embassy clarified that the main point, despite all the pseudo-legal casuistry, is that according to the Dayton Agreement, the Steering Board only nominates the High Representative, and the UN Security Council gives its approval.

The press release reminds that this was the case with all High Representatives who received approval in the form of a UN Security Council resolution.

"And only when the `Westerners` realized that such a resolution did not exist, did Christian Schwarz-Schilling receive the approval of the UN Security Council in the form of a letter from the then-President of the Security Council. The letter from UN Secretary-General António Guterres only confirms that there was no approval from the Security Council for the appointment of Christian Schmidt," the press release emphasizes.

The Russian Embassy emphasizes that, due to the veto by Russia and China, it is clear that Christian Schmidt cannot be considered the High Representative.

"Or, if you prefer, Christian Schmidt is an illegitimate High Representative. In other words – a self-appointed one," the Russian diplomats pointed out.

Despite the careful "explanation," it is precisely for this reason that the verdict the unconstitutional Court of BiH handed down to Milorad Dodik is unlawful.

The Russian Embassy particularly emphasizes that this is their principled stance, regardless of who the specific person is.

"We would have made a similar statement if any person – Bosniak, Serb, or Croat – had been convicted on this basis by the Court of BiH," says the press release.