The Office of the High Representative in BiH has no role or significance for the Republika Srpska entity, the Russian ambassador to Serbia Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko said Saturday.

Botsan-Kharchenko stated that this is the official position of the chairman of the BiH Presidency, Milorad Dodik, who has been asking for the closure of that office for years, and the Russian Federation supports that request.

The Russian ambassador recalled that consensus is the basic rule according to which the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) must work. According to him, the partners in the Council started violating that rule a few years ago.

“Valentin Inzko speaks as if there is a decision of the steering board. That is a lie because the Russian Federation did not give any consent, Botsan-Kharchenko told “Politika”.

He added that the PIC now wants to carry out another attempt at constitutional reform, to take away the power and authority of the Republika Srpska, and that centralization would enable BiH to become a member of NATO.

According to him, if the West does not give up this “illegitimate attempt”, despite Russia's opposition, then this situation will lead to additional tension.

“But I can't say that something extraordinary will happen. They will consider the High Representative appointed, Republika Srpska will consider him illegitimate and non-existent, and there will be no cooperation with him, “said the Russian ambassador.

The Ambassadors of the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC SB) formally appointed Christian Schmidt as the next High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina last month, following his candidature put forward by Germany. Russia voted against his appointment, claiming the Office should be closed.