Nenad Nesic, Bosnia Security Minister, strongly condemned and rejected the allegations by Defence Minister Zukan Helez, who told N1 that there are Russia-backed military training camps in Bosnian Serb part of the country and that they work under the supervision of Republika Srpska entity Interior Ministry.

“This is unprecedented spreading of fear in the public and undermining the stability of the country. I expect the Intelligence Security Agency and Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers, Ms. Borjana Kristo, to inform the public about the facts and to stop these monstrous allegations. There are no camps in Republika Srpska, nor any training being conducted,” said Nesic, the Bosnian Serb politician.

He also accused Helez of “spreading lies” a day after the St. Patron's Day of the RS Ministry of Internal Affairs, calling it “indicative.”

“If there are paramilitary armies in BiH those are the ones that Helez is threatening with, and the Prosecutor's Office of BiH should deal with that. Anything else is a notorious lie aimed at spreading of fear and intolerance, as well as at undermining the integrity of Republika Srpska Internal Affairs Ministry. Such lies and actions are unbecoming for anyone serious, especially a defence minister. I think it is about time for the Prosecutor's Office of BiH to deal with the continuous hate speech and spreading inter-ethnic intolerance by Helez,” said Nesic.

He called on the citizens not to fall for these “manipulations” and not to be scared for their safety.

Defence minister says forces of other countries present in Bosnia to provide security

Minister Helez spoke in N1's Pressing show, unveiling among other things that there are armed forces of other countries alongside the EU military deployment EUFOR in BiH to provide safety but he also warned about the presence of Russia-backed military training camps in Republika Srpska.