Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Milorad Dodik received on Friday the letter of credence presented by new Ambassador of the Russian Federation Igor Kalabukhov, expressing hope that the relations of the two countries will continue developing.

The officials welcomed good and stable political relations and bilateral cooperation between the two countries, according to the Presidency Chairman's cabinet.

They also stressed those relations were not burdened by any open issues, expressing hope that bilateral cooperation will continue developing at mutual benefit and that the economic, cultural and educational cooperation will improve.

It was emphasised during the meeting it was necessary to respect the Dayton Peace Agreement, the peace treaty which ended Bosnian war of the 1990s, and to close down the Office of the High Representative, the international envoy who oversees the peace implementation, “so that the local authorities and politicians can take over full responsibility of the decision-making.”

The ambassador said his country is consistently advocating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina guaranteed by the Dayton Peace Agreement as well as the equality of three constituent peoples and Bosnia's two entities.

Russia considers Bosnia as an important political, trade and economic partner, stressed the ambassador, adding that the two countries are united by common history, cultural and spiritual closeness.

According to the Presidency Chairman's cabinet, the officials also touched upon the recent visit by Russian FM Sergey Lavrov to Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was assessed as something that witnesses good bilateral relations of the two countries.

Kalabukhov previously presented the letter of credence to Bosnia's Foreign Ministry official.