The West has changed its overseer for Bosnia. Serbs and Russia are against
By decision of the Steering Committee of the Council for the Implementation of the Peace Agreement on Bosnia and Herzegovina, instead of the scandalous and Serbophobic Austrian diplomat Valentin Inzko, the German Christian Schmidt will become the High Representative for BiH.
Republika Srpska and Russia have already opposed this appointment, since it was taken in violation of the Dayton Agreements.
As a PolitNavigator correspondent reports, the candidacy of a German lawyer, a native of Bavaria, representative of the Christian Social Union (CSU) Christian Schmidt was approved by European countries at the end of last year. However, Germany, which nominated him as the country presiding over the EU, was awaiting US approval, and for this it was necessary for the new American administration to take office.
The former High Representative for BiH, an ardent enemy of the Republika Srpska, Austrian diplomat Valentin Inzko, resigned the day before. In turn, Schmidt must begin his duties on August 2. At a conference organized on the occasion, he stated that he sees the main goal of his policy as “assistance in the European integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina.”
At the same time, which is typical, the appointment of the High Representative occurred in circumvention of the norms prescribed in the Dayton Agreements; in particular, Schmidt’s candidacy was not put forward for discussion by the UN Security Council.
The Republika Srpska BiH and Russia spoke out against yet another Western overseer. Specifically, back in February, during a telephone conversation with Schmidt, Serbian member of the BiH Presidency Milorad Dodik said that the Office of the High Representative for BiH (OHR) should be closed and the country should be allowed to decide its own fate.
Today, due to the appointment of Schmidt, a meeting of the leadership of Republika Srpska was held, which was attended by Dodik, President Zeljka Cvijanovic and Prime Minister Radovan Viskovic.
“We all know that Valentin Inzko has not been trusted here for many years, but this does not mean that clearly defined procedures should be bypassed when electing a new High Representative,” Cvijanovic said. – Based on international law and the Dayton Agreement, today we have a state consisting of two entities, and the Republika Srpska wants to protect its interests and perform all its functions precisely on the basis of the agreement to which we agreed, and not on the basis of what We were offered over time.
The agreement makes clear that foreign ambassadors should be the ones who determine the nomination proposal, and this decision must be confirmed by a relevant UN Security Council resolution. The international community has again shown some inconsistency and hypocrisy, and that it does not understand what the real needs of this country are, and that dialogue within it should under no circumstances be strengthened. They are trying in every possible way to ruin everything that is a potential chance for us to survive here.”
The Russian Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina also released a statement on the occasion:
“In connection with the “statement of the Steering Committee of the Council for the Implementation of the Peace Agreement on Bosnia and Herzegovina” published on May 27, 2021 on the alleged “official appointment” of Mr. Christian Schmidt as the next High Representative in BiH, we note the following - the Russian Federation expresses categorical disagreement with this appointment. Ignoring the principle of consensus is a blatant violation of the established practice of electing the post of High Representative in BiH,” the document says.
English version :: Read in English The West has changed the overseer of Bosnia. The Serbs and Russia are against it.