Explanation of vote by Chargé d'Affaires a.i. of the Russian Federation Dmitry Polyanskiy after the UNSC vote on a draft resolution (put forward by Russia and China) on the mandate of the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina
Mme.President,
We regret that the Security Council was not able to adopt a resolution on the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina today. The Council did not endorse the candidacy of C.Schmidt.
We did warn that any attempts of our colleagues to get by without UNSC involvement in this process were not only illegitimate, but also dangerous. Thus after the resignation of V.Inzko the office remains vacant. There are and can be no legal grounds to interpret the situation otherwise.
We call on the Western states-members of the Security Council to not exacerbate the situation but get back to normal and coordinated work in the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council. On our part, we have always been and remain ready for open and meaningful interaction with all interested stakeholders.
We would like to warn our UNSC colleagues against further destructive steps, in particular against supporting illegitimate protégés in the office of the High Representative for BaH. Such short-sighted acts can only aggravate the internal political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and reduce to a zero all achievements that the international community has made at this track over the recent 25 years, which certainly threatens to undermine Bosnia and Herzegovina’s peace agreement.
Thank you.
