KOŠARAC: BiH HAS NOT, NOR WILL IT, IMPLEMENT SANCTIONS AGAINST RUSSIA

EAST SARAJEVO, APRIL 14 /SRNA/ - BiH has not imposed sanctions on the Russian Federation, nor will it as long as there are people in institutions at the joint level who follow the policies of the President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik, said Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers Staša Košarac.

He stated that the claims of the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Council of Ministers Elmedin Konaković about imposing sanctions are best refuted by today's meeting with the Russian delegation headed by the co-chairman of the Commission for Trade and Economic Cooperation between BiH and Russia Anton Shalayev. Košarac assessed that statements about alleged sanctions against Russia are unnecessary, because Moscow has an identical approach to the interests of Serbs, Bosniaks and Croats in BiH. He stated that Russia does not exert a malignant influence in BiH, but that the EU and the administration of former US President Joseph Biden do, and one example of this is the Eastern Interconnection, which was a significant project for the development of Republika Srpska halted stopped by Bosniak politicians in the Presidency of BiH. In a press release in East Sarajevo, Košarac pointed out that no one from Republika Srpska hated the Southern Interconnection. "Until the Eastern Interconnection is unblocked in the Presidency of BiH, as a minister I will not propose the Southern Interconnection at the session of the Council of Ministers," said Košarac, who is also the minister of foreign trade and economic relations. He stated that many officials from the Federation of BiH /FBiH/ said that they were pressured to pass certain laws, which was not done by the Russian, but by the US ambassador to BiH and certain EU officials. "Konaković's story about the malignant Russian influence and the fact that BiH imposed sanctions on Moscow is the same as the excavator he said he would use to sweep away the SNSD staff, but failed to do so," said Košarac, adding that one should not accept the narratives of the FBiH politicians who are trying to put Russia in the context of negative trends. Košarac stressed that Russia has never interfered in the internal affairs of BiH, but rather, as a guarantor of the Dayton Peace Agreement, affirmed that agreement as an agreement between the two entities and three constituent peoples. "Let's remember what others have done and how they behaved when it comes to internal issues in BiH," concluded Košarac. Košarac's meeting with the Russian delegation headed by Shalayev was held at the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations in the Council of Ministers. After this, a meeting was held in East Sarajevo with the mayor of this city, Ljubiša Ćosić.