Statement by Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia at UNSC briefing on the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Mr.President,
We welcome the beginning of Chinese Presidency of the Security Council, and wish your delegation every success. We also thank the delegation of Brazil for able stewardship of the Council during a very challenging month of October.
Mr.President,
We welcome Mr. Željko Komšić, Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to this meeting.
Developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina raise our growing concern. The internal political crisis in the country has embarked on a permanent footing. Inter-ethnic contradictions are not being resolved. On the contrary, they escalate and take on new forms. The post-conflict settlement in Bosnia and Herzegovina, for the discussion of which the United Nations Security Council meets twice a year, has been brought to a standstill by the deliberate efforts of the Western community, which pursues its egoistic geopolitical interests in the region.
After an in-depth and comprehensive analysis of the situation, we must state that Western participants in the reconciliation process in BiH, while hiding behind their status under the 1995 General Framework (Dayton) Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, have started to destroy this fundamental document for maintaining peace and stability, which was approved by UN Security Council Resolution 1031 in 1995. The core, fundamental principles of Dayton - the equality of the three constituent peoples and the two entities with broad constitutional powers - were jeopardized. Instead, and contrary to the spirit and letter of Dayton, the West seeks to impose on the peoples of BiH the objectives to centralize and unitarize the country as envisaged by the cunning "civil society formula".
Another element of destabilization is the obsessive desire of Western countries to replace Dayton with the notorious Euro-Atlantic integration and drive the country into NATO against the wishes of its peoples.
We warn with all responsibility that this is a dangerous policy that seeks to undermine the foundations of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s statehood, which is what security and stability of the country base on. We underscore that back in 1995, it was a finely tuned system taking into account interests of the three peoples and two entities that brought peace to Bosnia and Herzegovina and has maintained it since then. Its collapse would have catastrophic consequences.
The Security Council cannot continue to ignore the fact that, before its eyes, Bosnia and Herzegovina has become a de facto colonial entity openly manipulated by Washington, London and Brussels. The destructive activity of the self-proclaimed High Representative, who has arrogated to himself the entire range of state functions (and is already taking steps at the legislative level to prohibit to cast any doubt on his activities), is seriously aggravating the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and exacerbating inter-ethnic contradictions. The so-called report of pseudo High Representative clearly show how out of touch he is. This composition does not deserve any substantive commentary. It is regrettable that the United Nations Security Council has to be the recipient of such fabrications, the purpose of which is to create a false impression of the state of affairs in Bosnia and Herzegovina, to turn everything upside down and to shift responsibility for the crisis to those who defend the Dayton framework. We invite Council members to familiarize themselves with the relevant material prepared by the Government of Republika Srpska. That document is indeed full of objective data on the real state of affairs.
The Office of the High Representative has long exhausted its functions and should be closed as soon as possible. There is nothing positive that Bosnia and Herzegovina can expect from it. No doubt that the future of the peoples of the country lies solely in their own hands. An equal internal political dialogue is key to solving all problems. This dialogue must observe the principles of Dayton, which are more relevant today than ever before and that deserve comprehensive support of the UN Security Council.
Mr.President,
We call on the Security Council to take a responsible approach to assessing the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, proceed from an objective analysis of the developments, and look at the roots of the problems without limiting itself to make-believe stories authored by impostors. The peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina deserve to determine their own priorities based on their own national interests rather than something imposed from abroad.
As one of the states that witnessed the signing of the 1995 Agreement, Russia fully supports the fundamental principles of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the equality of the three constituent peoples and the two entities with broad constitutional powers. We are ready for constructive engagement to ensure a genuine post-conflict settlement in the country.
Thank you.
