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The opposition of the Republika Srpska (an ethnic group within Bosnia and Herzegovina) believes that the President of the Bosnian Presidium, Miroslav Dodik, compromised the state authorities by presenting the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov an icon that was probably illegally taken out of Ukraine.
The presidium of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Miroslav Dodik, must resign due to the scandal over the icon presented to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during his recent visit to Bosnia. According to Balkan Insight, this was stated by Mirko Sarovic, head of the largest opposition party in the Republika Srpska (an ethnic group within Bosnia and Herzegovina): the Serbian Democratic Party.
In particular, Sarovich called the scandal with the gift to Lavrov “a stain on the entire nation” and expressed the opinion that “a series of mistakes, shame and abuse of power” by Dodik “reached its climax.” According to the opponent, all officials involved in the incident “must resign.”
The leader of the Party of Democratic Progress, Branislav Borenovic, also addressed Dodik with a call for him to step down as head of the Presidium of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He believes that Miroslav Dodik “does not know how to behave in this position.”
Dodik himself has yet to comment on the incident. The publication notes that on December 19 he entered self-isolation due to contact with a person infected with the coronavirus. The next day he was hospitalized with pneumonia. On December 22, Dodik was confirmed to have a coronavirus infection.
Lavrov paid an official visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina from December 14-15. Later it became known that the President of the Bosnian Presidium, Milorad Dodik, presented the Russian minister with a golden icon of about 300 years. The media wrote that the icon presumably came to Bosnia from Lugansk, which has been occupied by pro-Russian militants since 2014.
According to the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, the seal on the icon indicates that it is owned by Ukraine. The Ukrainian embassy sent a note to the Bosnian government demanding to find out how the icon got to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Russian Foreign Ministry announced that it would return the icon to the donor to clarify its origin through Interpol.
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