Thewesternbalkans
The office of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Bosnia and Herzegovina was officially opened in Banja Luka on June 11, by Russian Ambassador Igor Kalabuhov and President of the RS Milorad Dodik.
Ambassador Kalabuhov and RS President Dodik addressed the solemn ceremony, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov also spoke via video link.
“The opening of a new diplomatic representation of the Russian Federation in the world is not an everyday occurrence… The expansion of the diplomatic corps (from Sarajevo to Banja Luka) testifies to the growing importance and authority of the Republika Srpska as a participant in international processes in accordance with the Dayton Peace Agreement”, Lavrov said.
Before turning on the video message of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Ambassador Kalabuhov announced the possibility of Lavrov’s coming soon to Banja Luka for the opening of the Serbian-Russian temple whose construction is underway.
During the ceremony Dodik pointed out that Republika Srpska did not allow Bosnia and Herzegovina to impose sanctions against Russia.
“Republika Srpska is not a destructive factor. We are only looking for a return to the original Dayton. We have our dreams, which we will know how to realize. We will share them with our Russian friends because they have shown that they understand us in difficult times for us”, Dodik said.
The ceremony was attended among others, by the RS National Assembly Speaker, Nenad Stevandić, Prime Minister Radovan Višković, ministers in the RS Government, Speaker of the RS Council of Peoples Srebrenka Golić, members of the RS National Assembly, representatives of the RS in Bosnia’s state institutions, His Eminence Bishop Jefrem of Banja Luka, Academy of Arts and Sciences President Rajko Kuzmanović.
Comment: In recent months, Russia’s ties with Republika Srpska are on the rise and contacts at the highest level have become regular.
Although it is not a new idea, the Russian Government accepted the proposal to open the Office of the Russian Embassy in Banja Luka in May 2022, the Office opening is happening now – a few days after the last meeting between Dodik and Putin in Sankt Petersburg and the recent adoption of the UN Resolution on Srebrenica Genocide.
