On July 8, the UN Security Council discussed a British draft resolution that would have been adopted 20 years after the tragedy at Srebrenica. The Russian delegation voted against it, and Angola, Venezuela, China and Nigeria abstained. As a result, the document was not adopted.
We regret that the British delegation insisted on voting contrary to our repeated warnings and the Balkan countries' concerns about the possible consequences of adopting a document that could provoke conflict, addressed to the UN Security Council. It is obvious that the drafted resolution was unacceptable because it was politically motivated and unbalanced and would have had a negative impact on national reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the Balkans as a whole. The resolution would place the blame for the tragedy exclusively on the Serbs, disregarding the fact that the Serbs were also victims in that tragedy.
Focusing on one of the numerous military crimes of that period and disregarding all other crimes would be inappropriate and would only deepen the divide in Bosnian society.
Furthermore, we have taken note of the lack of consensus on this issue in Bosnia and Herzegovina itself. There is no agreement on the draft resolution in the country's parliament or Presidium. This has reinforced our belief that an adoption of the resolution would only reopen old wounds, maintain ethnic tensions in the Balkan communities and further delay the achievement of a lasting peace.
The region saw many monstrous crimes committed during the Balkans crisis, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, in which people of different nationalities and faiths were killed. We have been consistently advocating the investigation of all wrongful acts committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina against all ethnic groups including Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats so that the guilty receive what they deserve.
The Russian delegate proposed commemorating the numerous victims of the tragedy in Bosnia and Herzegovina with a minute of silence during the UN Security Council meeting.
The region is facing an enormous challenge – to bring reconciliation and peace to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Acting constructively, Russia previously submitted an alternative draft resolution to the UN Security Council. Unlike the British proposal, the logic is focused on the future and would encourage all concerned sides to work towards national reconciliation and overcome the heavy consequences of the Bosnian tragedy as soon as possible.
Russia will continue to work energetically and consistently to implement the Dayton Agreement, the 20th anniversary of which we will mark late this year. It is vital that all sides honour their commitments under the Dayton Agreement, and special responsibility for this rests with the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We are ready to contribute towards normalising the situation in the Balkans, creating a real collective security system and strengthening the atmosphere of trust and cooperation there.
