MOSCOW, December 7. /TASS/. The protectorate regime in Bosnia and Herzegovina based on the role of the High Representative, hinders the country’s development and the reconciliation process, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with the Greek Efimerida ton Syntakton newspaper.
"The High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been playing a destabilizing role," he said. "The protectorate regime hinders the country’s development and the reconciliation process, as well as the full implementation of the peace agreement, though the High Representative is supposed to be its guarantor," the Russian top diplomat added.
"Attempts are now being made to discredit the elections held in Bosnia and Herzegovina and create the impression that the victory of Miroslav Dodik, the leader of the Bosnian Serbs, was not justified," Lavrov said.
Milorad Dodik (Alliance of Independent Social Democrats), Sefik Dzaferovic (the Party of Democratic Action) and Zeljko Komsic (Democratic Front) won seats in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s three-member presidency at the general election held on October 7.
According to the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement, Bosnia and Herzegovina, while remaining a single state, is divided into two entities - the Muslim-Croatian Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Serb-populated Republika Srpska. The document also established the position of High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina charged with the task of civil implementation.
The country’s presidency - a three-member body serving as the head of state - consists of one Bosniak, one Croat and one Serb. The body’s Bosniak and Croat members are elected from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Serb member is elected from Republika Srpska for a four-year term.
However, the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, selected by the European Union, is the highest political authority in the country. He has the right to cancel decisions made by the country’s authorities and dismiss officials at all levels, including presidency members. This right is not enshrined in the Dayton Agreement as it was provided to the High Representative later.
Russia calls for abolishing the High Representative’s office and turning it into an EU mission.