MOSCOW, September 9. /TASS/. Russia resolutely condemns Western attempts to remove Milorad Dodik, the president of Republika Srpska, from office, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a news conference following talks with Dodik.
"We strongly condemn attempts to oust Serbian leaders, those not aligned with the West, by fabricating charges against them. I mean our vis-a-vis, our friend and the legitimate president of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik," Russia’s top diplomat said.
Lavrov said he was outraged to see Dodik the victim of these attempts. "And the `crime’ as per Mr. Schmidt (German Cristian Schmidt, the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina - TASS) is that Mr. Dodik has disobeyed Mr. Schmidt’s orders and decisions," he explained. "It’s hard to imagine that in a normal law-governed state, a self-appointed gauleiter, talking about Germany, would actually try and usurp power in a sovereign state whose rights were very clearly outlined in UN Security Council decisions," Lavrov added.
On August 28, the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina scheduled early presidential elections in the Republika Srpska for November 23. This was preceded by the commission’s decision to terminate Dodik’s powers in the wake of his being found guilty of ignoring Schmidt’s decisions. In response, the president announced that a referendum on confidence in the republic’s leadership would be held on October 25.