Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the West is trying to “impose illegitimate solutions” in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo and that he discussed the issue with the French ministers of foreign affairs and defence.

One of those “illegitimate solutions” was the appointment of the international official overseeing the civilian implementation of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement in BiHigh Representative Christian Schmidt, he said.

He said that the High Representative’s appointment represents a “gross violation of the procedures set out in the Dayton Agreement” which he argued require the consent of all three constituent peoples, as well as that the appointment should have been approved in the UN Security Council.

“We brought it to the attention of our French colleagues that this is a very risky path that Western countries have chosen since it poses a threat to the coexistence of Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks within one state,” Lavrov said.

He said that he and Russian Defence Minister, Sergey Shoygu, also spoke to the French ministers about the issue of Kosovo, arguing that the EU, which plays the role of mediator in the negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina, is not able to implement decisions that were made with its support – primarily regarding the “Community of Serb Municipalities.”

“It is a matter of principle that enables Serbs in that region to preserve their national identity,” he said.

While he welcomed the fact that the EU managed to secure such an agreement, he argued that “the fact that Brussels cannot force Pristina to implement that agreement speaks for itself.”