According to Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, his country still demands the return of the Orthodox icon which Bosnia’s Presidency Chairman gave to Russia's Foreign Minister.
After the Serb member of the tripartite Presidency, Milorad Dodik, gave Russia’s Sergey Lavrov the 300-year-old gilded icon in December, the Ukrainian Embassy in Sarajevo sent a note to the BiH Ministry of Foreign Affairs asking for detailed information on the origin of what it suspects is a piece of Ukrainian cultural heritage.
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Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture said the icon could have been illegally taken from the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Luhansk by mercenaries.
Bosnia’s Prosecutor’s Office has meanwhile launched an investigation into the matter.
By the end of the month, the icon was returned to Bosnia via the Bosnian ambassador in Moscow, per Russia’s request.
In his first address to the media after his 16-day battle with COVID-19, Dodik said the entire narrative regarding the artefact was made up and that the media in Bosnia’s semi-autonomous Federation (FBiH) was tasked with creating a “false story.”
“Ukraine has never raised the issue of the disappearance of that icon. It is a family icon. Even today, the government bodies have not asked for that icon,” he told reporters.
Kuleba, however, tweeted on Wednesday that this is not true.
“The Ukrainian icon even burned the hands of experienced cynical Russian diplomats who disowned it. But Mr. Dodik continues to lie, surpassing his older friends. Ukraine continues to demand the return of the icon,” the Ukrainian minister tweeted.
Українська ікона обпалила руки навіть досвідченим у цинізмі російським дипломатам, які від неї відхрестилися. Але пан Додік продовжує брехати, перевершуючи своїх старших друзів. Україна надалі вимагає повернення ікони.
https://t.co/dNtxFIKEzO— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) January 6, 2021
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