Russian Ambassador to UN: Attempt to arrest Dodik was a provocation

Nebenzya began by stating that the security situation in BiH is seriously endangered. He said that the country is going through the "most serious internal crisis since the conflict" and that a number of actors, both inside and outside the country, are "trying to change the distribution of powers and turn a decentralized country into a centralized one with a different structure".
He said that Russia has previously warned about the dangers of revising the Dayton Agreement, which is the "cornerstone of the peace process" and that all must engage in dialogue. "Unfortunately, this message has been ignored by those who are supposed to ensure its implementation. The High Representative, with the support of Western powers, continues to interfere in the internal affairs of the independent state of BiH. These reasons have nothing to do with the Dayton Agreement, and he is attempting to shut down certain parties in the RS", he said.

Nebenzya said that this is an attempt to "eliminate" the most popular parties and figures from BiH’s political scene, such as the president of the RS entity, Milorad Dodik, and the Speaker of the RS National Assembly, Nenad Stevandic, stressing that they are democratically elected representatives.

He also commented on the arrest warrant issued for the RS leadership.

“The arrest warrant for Dodik only increases tensions in the country and region instead of working to reduce them. On April 23, there was an incident in East Sarajevo where a group from SIPA attempted to deliver an arrest warrant to Dodik, and we can only see this as a provocation", the Russian representative said, alleging that one of the SIPA inspectors is suspected of war crimes against the Serb population.

"Attempts to place all the blame on Banja Luka, as we’ve heard today, are neither helpful nor acceptable. We need to focus on the causes of this crisis, not its logical consequences. Not only is it unfair to single out the Serb people, it is also contradictory — such moves only lead to deadlock. It would be good to free the citizens of BiH from external influences that poison the circumstances. They need to take responsibility for themselves and their decisions. We propose that the Council issue a sober assessment of the situation in BiH,” Nebenzya concluded.