Russia from witness to destroyer of the international order in BiH

For several years now, the Russian Federation, ie the Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), who represents her on the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC), has stood out from the PIC and has not condemned direct threats to BiH's territorial integrity.

As the Russian Federation is one of the witnesses to the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement in BiH, what it fears is - can its moves, which are contrary to what is written in the agreement, endanger the peace it witnessed.

The country has announced that it will stop funding the Office of the High Representative (OHR), which was officially confirmed on April 19. She had previously withdrawn from attending PIC meetings.

Russia has also previously denied support for Christian Schmidt, who it believes cannot be considered a high representative in BiH without the consent of the United Nations Security Council.

The High Representative is in charge of implementing the civilian aspects of the Dayton Accords, while the PIC aims to ensure international support for the Accord.

The Embassy of the United States of America (USA) and Great Britain for Radio Free Europe (RFE) state that Russia's withdrawal from the work of the PIC Steering Board "does not interfere with the work of the OHR".

"These decisions have not adversely affected the capacity of the OHR or other members of the Peace Implementation Council, including the United States, to meet their obligations under the Dayton Peace Agreement, nor their commitment to supporting Bosnia and Herzegovina's territorial integrity, sovereignty and multiethnic character“ stands in response to RSE from the US Embassy in BiH.

According to them, the United States will support the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement and the fulfillment of the 5 + 2 Agenda, in order to end international supervision.

5 + 2 conditions and goals were set for the abolition of the OHR in 2008, including the distribution of property between the state and other levels of government, a solution for military property, implementation of the Final Decision for Brcko District, fiscal sustainability of BiH, and the rule of law.

Petrich: Russia cannot wage war in BiH

Russia is listed as a witness in the Dayton Accords, which ended the war in BiH, along with the EU, the UN, France, Germany, Britain and the United States.

This possibility of turning Russia's role from a witness to peace into a contradiction was also pointed out at the meeting of the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee held on April 20.

The rapporteur for Bosnia and Herzegovina in the European Parliament, Paolo Rangel, then warned that "BiH could be the next front for the destabilization that the Kremlin wants to open in Europe".

Former High Representative to BiH Wolfgang Petritsch told RFE / RL that Russia has not been working in the PIC in the spirit of Dayton for a long time, ie that it is helping and supporting BiH's recovery from the war.

However, he reminds that other witnesses, such as the USA and the EU, are behind the signing of the peace agreement, and that the main signatories, outside BiH, Serbia and Croatia, support its sovereignty.

"The possibility of a war in BiH caused by Russia would also mean a violation of the sovereignty of neighboring countries, which will not happen," Petrich is convinced.

Commenting on Russia's suspension of OHR funding in BiH, but also the withdrawal from the PIC Steering Board, Petritsch emphasizes that everything will be done as before, "only without Russia".

By the way, Russia's denial of finances to the OHR does not represent too much of a blow to its work, especially since it participates in its budget with a small amount of funds.

The OHR budget for 2021 was 5.3 million euros, and Russia had to pay 1.2 percent or about 63,000 euros.

The European Union allocates the most money to finance the OHR - 54.37 percent of the budget or 2.88 million euros, followed by the United States, which provides 22 percent or 1.16 million euros, and Japan with ten percent of the budget or 530,000 euros.

The PIC was established in December 1995, after the signing of the Dayton Accords, which ended the war in BiH.

Professor of constitutional law Kasim Trnka states that, given that the PIC was created at an international conference in London, "the position of the Russian Federation in the work of the Council can only be considered at a new conference."

"Until then, nothing significant can be changed," he said.

The PIC Council consists of 55 countries and representatives of various international organizations, and the Steering Board consists of the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Japan, the EU Presidency and the European Commission, and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). in the PIC it represents Turkey.

They support the peace process in a variety of ways - by providing funding, contributing troops to EUFOR, or conducting operations directly in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

EU - the safest place for BiH

For the security of BiH and its complete relaxation from Russian influence, the best, as stated in Randjel's report, would be the integration of the Western Balkan countries into the "broader strategic and security context", ie the EU.

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and former member of the Presidency of BiH from the BiH entity of Republika Srpska (RS), Mladen Ivanić, also believes that the EU is the direction that BiH should turn to.

"I think that BiH can be peaceful and stable only when it is part of the wider environment, and the only wider environment in our case and in these conditions is the EU," Ivanic said.

According to him, the office of the EU Delegation to BiH should be strengthened. In order for that to succeed, he adds, "it takes far more efforts of domestic institutions to get closer to the EU, which are not interested in that at all."

BiH's approach to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is also a "hostile act" from Russia's point of view, which, if it happens, the Russian Embassy in BiH said in March 2021 that would provoke their reaction.

This position was reiterated by Ambassador Igor Kalabukhov in an interview with the Television of the Federation of BiH on March 15, saying that they "showed what they expect on the example of Ukraine".

However, Annex 1A of the Dayton Accords, as witnessed by Russia, states that "it is understood and agreed that NATO will establish a military force under the leadership and subordination to the administration and political control of the North Atlantic Council (NAC) through NATO's command structure." .

Former High Representative to BiH Wolfgang Petritsch believes Russia could make it more difficult on the military side of the Dayton Accords.

"It could have consequences in the United Nations Security Council when it comes to the Althea, EUFOR missions, and I am skeptical whether Russia will support the extension of EUFOR's mandate," Petritsch said. EU and USA.

The EUFOR Althea mission is the EU's longest military operation, the only ground mission, and the only mission with an executive mandate to use force.

Approximately 3,500 troops are available to EUFOR, of which about 1,100 are currently deployed in BiH.

According to the 2003 agreement, the EU and NATO can deploy additional troops to BiH at any time, in the short term, in the event of a threat to the country's security.