Ambassador of the Russian Federation to BiH Petr Ivantsov said today he had always been committed to the Dayton rights of entities and peoples in BiH, and to having people here live in peace, cooperate and seek solutions together.
During his farewell visit to Banjaluka, Ivantsov has stressed that he befriended many people during the six years in BiH, both in Sarajevo and Banjaluka, that he tried to cooperate with all politicians in BiH and that he did not differentiate between Bosniaks, Croats, or Serbs.
“I was guided by diplomatic practice in my work. When it comes to BiH, my work was based on the principles of the Dayton Peace Accords and the BiH Constitution. It turned out that I have more ties and friends in Republika Srpska. The Russian and Serbian peoples are of the same faith, and this is one of the reasons this is so, we have common culture and history, and today I said goodby to my friends in Banjaluka with warm feelings,” Ivantsov told reporters in Banjaluka after a meeting with the highest Republika Srpska officials.
Ivantsov has said that the friendship is based on warm spiritual relations and that it is not directed against anyone, but is to the general benefit.
He thanked Serbian friends, stressing that he is leaving with hope that he did something good both for Republika Srpska and BiH.
Ivantsov has stressed that he is leaving with hope that good relations with local politicians will be maintained and that they will continue in the future.
“I am deeply grateful to Republika Srpska President Željka Cvijanović, Speaker of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska Nedeljko Čubrilović, with whom we cooperated a lot, Republika Srpska Prime Minister Radovan Višković with whom we also had good and friendly relations in a number of practical issues, and Chairman and Serb member of the BiH Presidency Milorad Dodik, from whom I learned a lot, whom I consider a distinguished politician in this country, and I am honored that he is my friend,” Ivantsov said.
He wished the people of Republika Srpska peace, well-being, prosperity and the end of the coronavirus pandemic as soon as possible.
When asked to comment on the address to the UN Security Council by Chairman and Serb member of the BiH Presidency Milorad Dodik and High Representative Valentin Inzko, Ivantsov has said that he is trying “not to comment on that which politicians say or what they say one to another.”
“I certainly feel that a meeting at the sidelines of the UN Security Council was useful and enabled members of the UN Security Council to hear not only official speeches that they hear twice a year, but also those who do not represent only their political parties, but their peoples as well. Whether some like it or not, it is not up to me, but these were positions for sure. I always assume that one should listen to his colleagues and your collocutor can have his own justice that is different from yours,” Ivantsov concluded.
Source: SRNA