BUST OF CHURKIN ERECTED AS A SIGN OF GRATITUDE BY A NATION THAT REMEMBERS

BANJA LUKA, JULY 8 /SRNA/ - Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik stated that a bust of former Russian diplomat Vitaly Churkin was erected as a sign of gratitude by a nation that remembers, and that he did not defend the Serbs because he had to, but because he knew justice was on their side.

"The bust of Vitaly Churkin was unveiled today as a sign of gratitude by a nation that remembers. It remembers the truth, courage, and friends. Churkin did not defend the Serbs because he had to, but because he knew justice was on our side," Dodik said.

He emphasized that Churkin was a voice of reason during a time of hysteria and a symbol of the brotherhood that has bound Serbs and Russians throughout the centuries.

"Through his courage and stance, he perfectly personified what it means to be a Russian friend of the Serbian people. That is why his words, `It won't pass,` will outlive any resolution. Eternal glory to you, friend," Dodik wrote on X.

Russian Ambassador to BiH Igor Kalabukhov and East Sarajevo Mayor Ljubiša Ćosić today unveiled a bust of the former Russian diplomat Vitaly Churkin, in gratitude for his veto, as Russia's representative at the UN, of the British resolution on Srebrenica, thereby preventing the unjust labeling of the Serbian people as genocidal.