VIENNA, October 22. /TASS/. Yulia Zhdanova, head of Russia’s delegation to the Vienna talks on military security and arms control, has warned that attempts at distorting the principles of the Dayton Agreement will have catastrophic consequences for both Bosnia and Herzegovina and the entire Western Balkans region.
"We would like to warn that any attempts to distort the Dayton principles will have catastrophic consequences for Bosnia and Herzegovina and the entire Western Balkans region. We insist that the UN Security Council must prevent events from unfolding in this way," Zhdanova said at the 25th meeting of the commission established under the Dayton Agreement.
According to the Russian diplomat, Western countries are seeking to dismantle the state architecture of Bosnia and Herzegovina enshrined in the Dayton Agreement. She emphasized that Russia considers the Dayton Agreement to be the only possible basis for a settlement in the region.
Under the constitution envisaged by the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Dayton Agreement) of 1995, Bosnia and Herzegovina is comprised of two entities, namely the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (around 51% of the territory) and the Republic of Srpska (around 49%), as well as the Brcko District. The three key ethno-religious groups, i.e. Bosniaks (Slavs professing Islam), Serbs (Orthodox Christians), and Croats (Catholics), are proportionally represented in the state governance system.
In fact, the country is governed via the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, whose office was set up under the Dayton Agreement and who is appointed by the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) upon the UN Security Council’s consent. However, in 2021, the Board members appointed Hans Christian Schmidt of Germany to the post without agreeing his candidature with the UN Security Council.
On May 10, Schmidt announced his resignation. Former US Consul General in Vladivostok Louis Crischock will serve as acting high representative until a new high representative is elected.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that the West’s attempts to endorse Crischock "as acting high representative" for Bosnia and Herzegovina have no legal grounds.