The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Elmedin Konaković, rejected claims that Saudi Arabia supports the secession of Republika Srpska, after public reports from the lobbying firm “Dickens & Madson,” which was hired to represent the interests of the Bosnian entity. Konaković revealed that during the Munich Security Conference, he showed the disputed contract to the Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs and asked that the meetings planned by the lobbyists with top Saudi officials not take place.
The trigger for the reaction of the head of Bosnian diplomacy was a report from the lobbying firm “Dickens & Madson,” headed by Ari Ben-Menashe, which refers to activities undertaken in the interest of Republika Srpska.
As Raport reported, the report submitted to U.S. authorities claims contacts with Saudi representatives and alleged support for Republika Srpska’s political goals, including its secession from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
These are the claims of the lobbying firm, not officially confirmed by the government of Saudi Arabia.
Konaković Showed the Disputed Contract to the Saudi Minister
Konaković, commenting on these allegations, recalled meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, during the Munich Security Conference.
“I showed the Minister of Foreign Affairs that disputed contract between the government of Republika Srpska and the lobbyist Menashe, a former Mossad agent, who promised to arrange a meeting at the highest level, with the royal family, with authorities, with ministers, in Saudi Arabia,” Konaković said.
According to him, he requested that the Saudi officials not hold such meetings.
“I asked our friends not to hold such a meeting. Such a meeting, of course, has never happened to this day,” he said.
Konaković has previously spoken about the lobbyist contract, which sparked numerous reactions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, warning against activities directed towards ensuring the international support for the political goals of the Republika Srpska authorities.
The Disputed Report: Lobbyists Claim They Met with Saudi Officials
Konaković paid particular attention to the content of the final report by lobbyist Ari Ben-Menashe, which, according to him, contains claims about meetings with representatives of the Saudi government.
“The lobbyist Menashe, the former Mossad agent, in a final report submitted to the U.S. authorities and those the lobbyists work for, stated that he held meetings with the prince’s cabinet, with representatives of the Saudi government, and as if, supposedly, Saudi Arabia supports the secession of Republika Srpska, which is, of course, a notorious lie,” Konaković stated.
The lobbying firm “Dickens and Madson”, headed by Ben-Menashe, was hired to represent the interests of Republika Srpska in international political circles.
The contract is connected to the activities of the Republika Srpska Representative Office in Austria, and information had previously emerged in public about the lobbyists’ efforts to organize contracts with high-ranking officials of other countries.
It is important to emphasize that claims about meetings and alleged Saudi support for the secession of Republika Srpska are not the same as the official decision or confirmed stance by the Saudi authorities.
“Is Menashe Lying to Dodik or Are the Two of Them Together Lying to the Serbs in BiH?”
Speaking about motives behind such claims, Konaković questioned the credibility of the lobbyist report, as well as the relation between Ben-Menashe and the SNSD leader Milorad Dodik.
“There are dozens, hundreds, and thousands of pieces of evidence about this, so I don’t know if this is an attempt by Menashe to justify millions he took from Dodik, so he is just lying to Dodik, or both of them together, Dodik and Menashe, are once again lying to the Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina to make it look like Dodik actually matters or somehow has support for secession,” Konaković said.
He added that responses to these questions should be provided by Dodik and Ben-Menashe themselves.
“That is a question for them; we are not all that interested in it,” he noted.
Reminding of Saudi Arabia’s Support for Bosnia and Herzegovina During the War
The head of Bosnian diplomacy reflected on the historical relations between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Saudi Arabia, reminding of the support this country provided to Bosnia and Herzegovina during the war and in the post-war period.
Konaković stated that Haris El Hadžić personally told him about the significance of Saudi diplomatic influence in international relations, including support for Bosnia and Herzegovina during its admission to the United Nations, as well as contacts with the U.S. administration during the war.
“Haris El Hadžić personally told me how important Saudi Arabia’s influence was when we were admitted to the United Nations General Assembly, at the General Assembly session, how important their interventions were with the U.S. authorities, Bill Clinton, who was president at the time, when NATO intervened in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and how much Saudi Arabia helped us during the defense against aggression, but also afterward, in building Bosnia and Herzegovina,” he said.
Bosnia and Herzegovina was admitted to UN membership on May 22, 1992, while NATO, during the war, particularly in 1995, carried out military operations against the position of the Army of the Republika Srpska.
Konaković recalled that Saudi Arabia provided support to Bosnia and Herzegovina during post-war reconstruction.
“There Is No Support for Secession in BiH”
In the end, Konaković said that he spoke once again with the representatives of Saudi Arabia and that, according to the information available to him, the country does not support the secession of the Republika Srpska.
“What we know, and I have spoken, of course, once again with our friends in Saudi Arabia who are facing serious problems these days, people have died in attacks on airports, is that there is no Saudi support whatsoever for the secession of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Konaković concluded.
His reaction comes at a time when the lobbying engagements of the Republika Srpska authorities are once again in the public spotlight, especially over the financing of activities used to pursue the entity’s foreign policy goals.
To recall, Konaković has previously announced to N1 that he will deliver the verdict of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina to U.S. partners, which he claims confirms the illegality of financing the entity’s foreign policy interests.
The claims from the lobbying report regarding Saudi Arabia’s support for the secession of the Republika Srpska have not been independently confirmed so far, while Konaković categorically rejects them, N1 writes.
