When the Serb member of Bosnia’s tripartite Presidency expressed support for Russia's annexation of Crimea, he did not speak on behalf of the institution but stated his own opinion, the Croat Chairman of the Presidency said in a public statement on Friday.

The statement came after the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a protest note to Bosnia’s Presidency complaining about statements Serb Presidency member Milorad Dodik gave to Russian media recently.

Croat Presidency member Zeljko Komsic said that Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a country aspiring to become an EU member country, remains committed to the stance of the European Union – that the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine must be respected.

He added that the EU does not recognise the referendum that took place in Crimea and its results and the annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by the Russian Federation as legitimate.

Komsic also reminded that the EU has in March 2014 introduced sanctions against Russia.

“Those measures were introduced as a response to the illegal annexation of Crimea and the intentional destabilisation of Ukraine. The economic sanctions currently in force were extended to January 31, 2020,” Komsic said.