Russian Ambassador to Serbia Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko said that by granting Bosnia and Herzegovina the candidate status the European Union only wants to keep the country away from Russia. He urged the Bosnian Serbs to object that as the EU membership will lead to the abolition of competencies that the Serb-majority semi-autonomous region Republika Srpska now has.

“The candidate status is a very dangerous thing,” the ambassador told the RTRS, the public broadcaster in that part of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

He said that the strategy of shifting from the Dayton to the Brussels phase will pose an additional pressure on Republika Srpska, adding that the country can survive only on the Dayton grounds. HE referred to the current constitutional order of the country which is based on the Dayton Peace Agreement, the peace deal signed in 1995 that contains the country's constitution.

Botsan-Kharchenko, who served as the Russian ambassador in Sarajevo from 2009 through 2014, praised Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, saying that he believes they will remain consistent in their objecting of sanctions on Russia.

In that way, he stressed, they will “continue strengthening the sovereignty of Serbia and Republika Srpska.”

The ambassador rejected the responsibility of Russia for war in Ukraine, arguing that this is the fault of the West, which is supplying Ukraine with weapon.