The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced today that the country has not yet received evidence that the icon donated to Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Sarajevo was acquired by the last owner illegally, and the situation around the icon in the media space of Bosnia and Herzegovina is used to discredit Russia.
“Despite the fact that the Russian side returned the icon to donors through diplomatic channels in order to clarify its origin, unfounded speculations about the fate of the icon, which cast a shadow on Russia, continue to spread in the media space of Bosnia and Herzegovina and a number of other countries,” the ministry said in a statement, reports TAS.
He adds that by spreading insinuations based solely on the assumptions of their authors, “biased” media use this topic for manipulation in order to gain internal political points in BiH and discredit Russia in the eyes of their public.
They also point out that no evidence has been presented that the last owner of the icon came to it illegally. However, this episode has already become “the subject of cynical manipulations and unfair games in the media space”, it is added, reports TAS S.
Instead of waiting for the official conclusion of the relevant institutions, as it is added, “unscrupulous journalists spread their own fantasies as reliable information”. A statement from the Russian Ministry states that it is noticeable that some media use the West’sfavorite hobby to look for “Kremlin fingers” everywhere and in everything, and that they are ready to use any, including extremely inadequate excuse to encourage anti-Russian propaganda.
Milorad Dodik presented the icon to Lavrov on December 14 during a meeting in East Sarajevo. After the protest note of the Ukrainian embassy in Sarajevo, the icon was handed over to the BiH
