Attempts by external powers to influence the elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina have proved futile, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.
Asked to assess the election results in Republika Srpska and the future development of relations with the entity, particularly in light of Christian Schmidt’s attempts to prevent Milorad Dodik from participating in the elections, Zakharova noted that the vote had taken place peacefully.
She also emphasized that a delegation of Russian senators had participated in election monitoring at the invitation of the Republika Srpska leadership.
“The final election results have not yet been established, which is very important, so it is too early to speak of anyone’s victory. Nevertheless, it is already possible to conclude that the constituent peoples of BiH have exercised their democratic rights with dignity, electing legitimate representatives to responsible positions and legislative bodies at both the state and entity levels, in Republika Srpska and the Federation of BiH,” Zakharova said.
“As we can see, attempts by external powers to interfere in the electoral process and influence the results have proved futile. However, I want to emphasize once again that we are still awaiting the official announcement of the results, the completion of vote counting and all necessary procedures,” she added.
Zakharova recalled that Russia is one of the guarantors of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement and remains firmly committed to contributing to its full implementation and respect.
“We advocate the abolition of the Office of the High Representative, whose activities undermine international efforts to maintain peace in BiH. The time has long since come for full responsibility to be transferred to the authorities of BiH, which has earned that right,” Zakharova emphasized.
Source: RTRS
