Ukrainian Ministry of Culture has established that during 1926-1930, the icon which BiH Presidency Chairman Milorad Dodik presented to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov recently was registered as a national object of culture and belongs to the government of Ukraine, Alya Shandra from Euromaidan Press confirmed for N1 Tuesday.
“Our Ministry of Culture has established that during 1926-1930, this icon was registered as a national object of culture and belongs to the government of Ukraine. It is now necessary to establish how it got to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Ukrainian officials are now investigating the exact origins of the icon and how it could have found its way to Bosnia and Herzegovina. it could have If it was indeed illegally transferred from Russian-occupied Luhansk by mercenaries fighting against Ukraine, then this indeed is marauding, as it has been suggested. I hope that the relevant Bosnian authorities will cooperate with Ukraine to make sure that all of Ukraine's cultural heritage is preserved for the future generations of Ukrainians,” she said.
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Russia's Lavrov stayed in a two-day visit to Bosnia where he first met with Milorad Dodik and other Bosnian officials from Republika Srpska entity, where Dodik gave him the 300-year-old gilded icon.
The visit was marked by a diplomatic scandal when other two members of BiH Presidency members refused to meet Lavrov citing lack of respect for BiH symbols and institutions.
