GERMANY IS SPREADING FALSEHOODS, RUSSIA OPPOSED SCHMIDT'S APPOINTMENT, HE IS SELF-DECLARED

SARAJEVO, SEPTEMBER 11 /SRNA/ – The German Embassy is spreading falsehoods by claiming that the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council /PIC/ appointed Christian Schmidt as High Representative, as there was no such appointment due to Russia's opposition, the Russian Embassy in BiH emphasized.

"Christian Schmidt is a self-declared official who lacks legitimacy. We proposed ways for Schmidt to correct the situation, but he, perhaps due to indecisiveness or pressure from 'partners', chose a path of destroying the Dayton PeaceAgreement, which has led to the greatest crisis in BiH, just as we warned," the Russian Embassy stressed. They pointed out that all previous High Representatives were elected by consensus among all members of the PIC Steering Board, whereas this time Schmidt's non-consensual candidacy was pushed through despite the established working practice of this body. "Schmidt is not the High Representative because he is the only one in the entire post-Dayton history who has not received approval from the UN Security Council, which is an essential condition for the legitimacy of the High Representative. Such approval was given to all previous High Representatives in the form of a UN Security Council resolution," the Russian Embassy noted. They emphasized that even another German candidate, Christian Schwarz-Schilling, received UN Security Council approval, albeit in the form of an exchange of letters between the UN Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council. Regarding what they called hypocritical references to UN Security Council Resolution 1031, Annex 10 of the Peace Agreement, and other resolutions, they stated these define the work of a legitimate High Representative – which Christian Schmidt is not. "We understand it is difficult for the partners to admit that they have, in essence, carried out a coup d’état in BiH," read the Russian Embassy’s reaction to the German Embassy’s claim that Schmidt was appointed in accordance with established procedures relating to the High Representative. As they cited, "Schmidt was nominated by Germany and appointed by the PIC Steering Board entirely in accordance with international law and relevant UN Security Council resolutions, starting with Resolution 1031 /1995/."