Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya called for the immediate closure of the Office of the High Representative during the United Nations Security Council session on Bosnia and Herzegovina, stating that the institution has been “privatized” and transformed into the main factor of instability.
“To this day, the main source of instability in Bosnia and Herzegovina remains the apparatus of the High Representative, which has evolved from an international mediator tasked under Annex 10 of the Dayton Agreement with assisting in the implementation of the civilian aspects of the peace accord, into an instrument of the West enabling practically unlimited interference in the internal affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Nebenzya stated.
According to him, in order to justify the continued existence of what he described as an external protectorate over the country, the OHR “commits legal violence against a sovereign state and deliberately provokes internal political turbulence.”
Nebenzya described the appointment of Christian Schmidt as the culmination of that process, arguing that Schmidt was appointed illegally, contrary to international procedures and without a decision of the UN Security Council.
“This led to the complete loss of legitimacy of the OHR and clearly demonstrated the intention of Western countries to privatize the settlement process, excluding those who disagree with their approach and creating alternative mechanisms for overseeing the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina outside the UN Security Council, in the spirit of the so-called ‘rules-based order,’” he said.
Nebenzya further stated that Schmidt, with the support of certain Western countries, repeatedly attempts to shift responsibility for the consequences of his actions onto Republika Srpska and Serb political leaders.
He emphasized that the peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina should determine their own future through dialogue based on the Dayton framework.
“The solution to existing disagreements must be sought through broad and mutually respectful dialogue among the parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina themselves, on the basis of the Dayton Peace Agreement,” Nebenzya said.
He also stressed that Russia, as one of the guarantors of the Dayton Agreement, remains ready for constructive cooperation aimed at ensuring what he described as a genuine post-conflict arrangement in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Source: RTRS
