The Russian Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) declared today that the ruling from the Court of BiH against the President of Republika Srpska (RS), Milorad Dodik, is “illegal.” They argue that Christian Schmidt lacks status as a high international representative in BiH due to Russia and China’s veto concerning his appointment to the United Nations (UN) Security Council.

The Embassy mentioned that they thoroughly reviewed the complete first-instance ruling from the Court of BiH, which sentenced Dodik to one year in prison along with a six-year prohibition from engaging in political activities for not adhering to the High Representative’s directives. They described the verdict as a mere reiteration of pseudo-legal Anglo-Saxon arguments, which the so-called legitimists utilize to convince themselves of Schmidt’s legitimacy as the High Representative in BiH.

The Russian diplomatic mission affirmed that Schmidt “is not a legitimate High Representative,” designating him, instead, as an “impostor.”

They emphasized that their stance is “principled, irrespective of individual identity” and that a similar statement would be made if any other individual, whether Bosniak, Serb, or Croat, faced a conviction on similar grounds from the Court of BiH.

The Russian Embassy lamented that “it is regrettable” that the Court of BiH, which ought to exemplify objective and impartial judicial conduct, has permitted itself to become entangled in Anglo-Saxon provocations aimed at dividing the peoples of BiH.

They concluded their statement by asserting: “If the specter of war and conflict resurfaces here, the responsibility will lie exclusively with the Western instigators and provocateurs.”

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