Delegates in the Republika Srpska National Assembly (RSNA) have the power to “stand up for civilisational values by rejecting Russia's cynical disinformation,” European Union and US ambassadors to Bosnia and Herzegovina said in a joint statement ahead of the announced address by Russian ambassador at the entity parliament of Republika Srpska, Bosnia's Serb-majority entity, scheduled for Monday. They stressed that the "Moscow’s manipulation" does not have the power to weaken their support or destroy the resolve of BiH citizens "fighting for a brighter future within the Euro-Atlantic community of nations."

The delegates will have a chance to stand “on the side of thousands of Ukrainians who are being targeted, kidnapped, raped, tortured, and killed in Russia’s war,” the ambassadors said.

“The deputies in the RSNA are likely to hear disinformation about Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. You are likely to hear that Russia is protecting people from Nazism. These are outrageous lies. Moscow seeks to exploit the cultural and religious bonds that Russia shares with the Serb people to divert your attention from its crimes in Ukraine,” said the joint statement.

The ambassadors also said in their joint message that the deputies are also likely to hear that “the West” is trying to deprive the peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina of their identity, adding that “nothing could be further from the truth.”

“As guarantors of the Dayton Peace Agreement, BiH’s European and American partners work to ensure that all citizens of BiH can exercise their cultural and ethnic rights in full equality. Effective protection of these rights is at the core of Euro-Atlantic integration. The people of BiH – Serbs, Croats, Bosniaks, and all others – know that this is the path to a better future for their children right here in their own country. We protect rights, we do not trample on them like Russia has done to its own citizens and is doing now to the citizens of Ukraine,” the ambassadors underlined.

Russia's Ambassador to address parliament of BiH's Republika Srpska entity

They believe the deputies are also likely to be told about how the West “interferes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, forcing it to implement reforms.

“This country applied for EU membership on its own accord. Yes, the process of Euro-Atlantic integration that BiH has chosen comes with the need for reforms. This is not interference. Interference is what Russia is doing in BiH: stoking division in this country and threatening dire consequences if BiH chooses to exercise its sovereign rights,” they stressed.

In conclusion, the EU and US ambassador said that the EU and the United States both remain friends and partners of Bosnia and Herzegovina, both of its entities and the Brcko District – as integral and crucial parts of the country.

“Moscow’s manipulation does not have the power to weaken our support or destroy the resolve of BiH citizens fighting for a brighter future within the Euro-Atlantic community of nations,” they underlined.