BiH Ambassador to the United Nations Zlatko Lagumdžija voted against a Russian-sponsored resolution aimed at combating the glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and practices contributing to racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance. The vote has sparked criticism from Republika Srpska, where officials are demanding to know who authorized the ambassador’s decision.
The resolution received support from 117 countries, with 45 states listed as co-sponsors of the text.
Officials in Republika Srpska have questioned whether the decision to vote against the resolution was approved through BiH’s established foreign policy decision-making procedures.
The BiH Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not provided an answer to the same question, according to the report.
Trišić Babić: Foreign policy decisions must be agreed upon by the Presidency
Ana Trišić Babić, Director of the Office for International Cooperation of Republika Srpska, criticized the vote and emphasized that BiH is not obligated to automatically follow every foreign policy position adopted by the European Union.
“First of all, we are not an EU member state. Alignment with EU statements is not automatically mandatory for us. Regardless of who proposed the resolution, we should have discussed it and could at least have abstained,” Trišić Babić said.
She stressed that the glorification of Nazism is unacceptable and argued that the matter should have been considered by the BiH Presidency before any diplomatic decision was made.
“Whoever submitted the resolution, the decision should have been made by the Presidency,” she added.
Lagumdžija defends vote by referring to EU foreign policy alignment
Responding to criticism from Republika Srpska, Lagumdžija defended his position by pointing to the countries behind the resolution, including Russia, Belarus, North Korea and Cuba.
He argued that BiH’s political orientation lies with the European Union, with which it has signed a Stabilisation and Association Agreement.
However, critics in Republika Srpska maintain that alignment with EU positions does not eliminate the need for an agreed foreign policy stance within BiH.
Trišić Babić said Lagumdžija had failed to explain who issued the instructions authorizing his vote.
“In his response, Ambassador Lagumdžija did not answer who gave such an order or instruction. It was more of an attempt at justification,” she stated.
“The only thing I understood from that explanation was that the vote was cast that way because the United States and the United Kingdom had said so,” she added.
Russian Embassy thanks Republika Srpska for distancing itself from the vote
The Russian Embassy in BiH expressed gratitude to Republika Srpska for publicly distancing itself from Lagumdžija’s decision.
Ilya Serov, Third Secretary at the Russian Embassy, criticized BiH’s position and accused European countries of ignoring what he described as neo-Nazism in Ukraine.
“Unfortunately, BiH has joined neoliberal Europe, which is burying its head in the sand and attempting to justify the neo-Nazi regime in Kyiv,” Serov said, expressing the Russian government’s position.
He also argued that BiH should demonstrate greater independence in its foreign policy decisions.
“We have heard explanations concerning BiH’s European integration obligations, but we believe BiH should demonstrate objectivity and independence in its actions,” Serov stated.
According to him, the ambassador’s vote violated the principle that BiH should maintain a coordinated foreign policy position.
Analysts criticize vote as departure from anti-fascist tradition
Political analyst Dragomir Anđelković argued that the decision represented a departure from the anti-fascist traditions of the peoples of BiH, particularly the Serb people.
He claimed that Sarajevo’s refusal to support the resolution could be interpreted as disregarding the historical legacy of movements that collaborated with Nazi Germany during the Second World War.
“When political Sarajevo refuses to support a resolution condemning Nazism, it appears, in a way, to be justifying those from BiH who sided with Nazism during the Second World War,” Anđelković said.
He referred to the Waffen-SS Handschar Division and the Ustaše movement as historical examples of collaboration with Nazi Germany.
Serbia supports resolution as neighboring countries vote against
According to the report, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro and North Macedonia were among the countries in the region that voted against the resolution.
Serbia, meanwhile, voted in favor.
The vote has renewed disagreements over BiH’s foreign policy coordination, with representatives of Republika Srpska insisting that decisions taken at international institutions must reflect positions agreed upon by the country’s competent authorities.
The central question raised by officials in Republika Srpska remains whether Ambassador Lagumdžija received the necessary authorization to cast BiH’s vote against the resolution.
Source: RTRS
