Bosnia: Moscow demands immediate closure of international representative office

Russia demands the closure of an office established by the Dayton peace agreements. This demand was communicated by Russian ambassador Vassili Nebenzia during a UN Security Council meeting on the situation in the Balkan country.

“Russia has demanded the ‘immediate’ closure of the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia, following the resignation of German Christian Schmidt who held this post with significant powers since 2021. ‘We demand that Western countries stop interfering in the internal affairs of Bosnia-Herzegovina. We insist on the immediate closure of the OHR (Office of the High Representative),’ established by the Dayton peace agreements,” stated Russian ambassador Vassili Nebenzia during the UN Security Council meeting on the situation in the Balkans.

“It is high time for the people of Bosnia-Herzegovina to obtain true sovereignty and independence to decide their own future,” he added, stating that Christian Schmidt’s departure, which his country never recognized, was already “a step in the right direction.” After a long standoff with Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, Christian Schmidt announced his resignation on Monday.

German Christian Schmidt was appointed in 2021 by the Dayton Agreement Enforcement Council to the post with discretionary powers allowing him to annul laws and dismiss elected officials. However, Moscow did not support his nomination, deeming him illegitimate, and opposed his confirmation by the UN Security Council. Since then, Russia has regularly taken issue with him, accusing him of bias against the Serb entity. Since the end of the war in 1995, Bosnia has been divided into two autonomous entities, Republika Srpska (49% of the territory) and the Croatian-Muslim Federation, connected by a weak Bosnian government.

Context: The Office of the High Representative in Bosnia was created to oversee the implementation of the civilian aspects of the Dayton peace agreements that ended the Bosnian War in 1995.

Fact Check: The Dayton peace agreements were reached in Ohio, United States, in 1995 to end the Bosnian War, led by the international community.