MOSCOW, December 14. . The adventures of Western countries related to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) are having the most negative impact on the situation in the Balkan region. This is stated in an article by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for a Serbian newspaper. “Politics” on the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement.
He pointed out that Western countries, for the supposed reason of ensuring the functioning of the state apparatus of Bosnia and Herzegovina, are imposing “the so-called civic concept, designed to obscure the identity of the peoples that form the state.”
“The real goal is to create conditions where the political elite of only one of the three peoples of BiH can freely implement an externally prescribed agenda to the detriment of the interests of other parties in Bosnia,” Mr. Lavrov emphasized. “Such adventures have the most negative forecast for the situation in the region.”
The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry recalled that at one time “it was the unilateral declaration of independence from Yugoslavia by the government of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina – ignoring the position of the Serbs in Bosnia – that marked the beginning of the civil war”.
Self-interest instead of empty promises
Mr. Lavrov also noted that although leading Western countries assumed a partner role in ensuring the implementation of the Dayton Agreement and promoting a post-conflict settlement, they “driven by selfish interests, almost immediately set a course for dismantling the Dayton structure.”
“The fierce resistance in Western capitals has aroused the desire of Republika Srpska to consistently defend the legal rights and special autonomous status of its entity, as well as to oppose the plan to draw Bosnia and Herzegovina into NATO against the will of its people,” he noted.
In this regard, the head of Russia's foreign policy ministry stated that, in contrast to Republika Srpska, which used and continues to fully comply with the tools stipulated in the Peace Agreement, the West “launched a high-level campaign against the Serbs”, relying on “reforming the country through unification through the deprivation of the rights of Dayton to Serbs and Croats”.
About the Dayton Peace Agreement
The General Framework Agreement on Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Peace Agreement) is informally named the Dayton Agreement after the location of its concluding negotiations (Dayton, United States), which took place in November 1995. The document was signed by the parties to the conflict and the leaders of Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on 14 December 1995 in Paris in the presence of senior officials from Russia, the US, the UK, France, Germany and a representative of the EU, who also signed. it and thus acquired the status of guarantor of Dayton.
On December 15, 1995, the agreement was ratified by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1031.
According to the constitution proposed in the General Framework Agreement for Peace (Dayton Agreement), BiH includes two entities: the Muslim-Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (about 51% of the territory) and Republika Srpska (about 49%), as well as the Brčko district. Three main ethnic groups are proportionally represented in the government system: Bosniaks (Slavs who converted to Islam), Serbs (Orthodox), and Croats (Catholics).
The country is essentially governed through a high-ranking representative of the international community (a position established under the Dayton Agreement), who is appointed by the steering committee of the Peace Agreement Council following approval of the candidate by the United Nations Security Council.
