UK Embassy to Bosnia and Herzegovina condemned the decision of authorities in Bosnia's Republika Srpska entity to award Russian President Vladimir Putin with the Order of RS, calling the actions contrary to the decisions of the Constitutional Court a “provocation.”

The UK stance on the marking of January 9 as the Day of RS is “clear and consistent,” the embassy said, referring to the celebration of the unconstitutional holiday.

“Political representatives of Republika Srpska need to act in line with the decision of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2015 and 2019, because everything else would not be wise and would mean a provocation. There is a number of unsolved issues in Bosnia and Herzegovina that demand a constructive engagement of all political leaders,” the embassy told N1, urging the new authorities in the country to approach these matters seriously.

The embassy also called on the politicians in Bosnia and Herzegovina to build an environment of mutual trust and to refrain from the “rhetoric and activities that lead to divisions and escalation.”

“We condemn the decision of Republika Srpska to give the Order of Republika Spska to Vladimir Putin. Putin premeditated the unprovoked and barbaric invasion of Ukraine, a sovereign democratic country. Rewarding such personality cannot be justified and carries the risk of further isolation of those politicians of the Republika Srpska who took part in this,” it stressed.

The decision on awarding Putin was previously condemned by the US Embassy and the EU institutions.