Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency member Milorad Dodik on Monday tried to prevent the participation of Bosnia and Herzegovina representatives in a summit of the Crimea Platform, organized by the Ukrainian authorities, but his plan was thwarted by the other two BiH Presidency members.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has invited BiH Presidency Chairman Sefik Dzaferovic to attend an online meeting of the Crimea Platform at the level of heads of state or government, scheduled for 23 August.

Ukraine launched this initiative in 2021 with the aim of defining ways to restore its constitutional and legal order in Crimea, that is, consolidating the policy of non-recognition of its annexation by Russia in 2014.

Dodik, who has been uncritically supporting Moscow’s policy since the start of Russia’s aggression on Ukraine, requested an extraordinary meeting of the BiH Presidency over Ukraine’s invitation to Dzaferovic, at which he proposed a conclusion under which Bosnia and Herzegovina should refrain from taking part in the summit or from any other activity that “could worsen the already politicised issue of Russia-Ukraine relations at the international level.”

Support to Ukraine would constitute a biased approach that would contribute to further deterioration of the situation and threaten international peace and stability, Dodik said.

Dzaferovic and the third member of the BiH Presidency, Zeljko Komsic, voted against Dodik’s proposal so Bosnia and Herzegovina will attend the 23 August conference, which is expected to symbolically confirm the international community’s support to Ukraine.

Dodik said that he would file a criminal report against Dzaferovic if he took part in the summit of the Crimean Platform, claiming that at the conference Dzaferovic would be presenting personal opinions of Bosnian politicians.

He also claimed that participation in the conference undermined Bosnia and Herzegovina’s reputation.

“That’s the end for this country… Whether it will be declared in two, five or ten years is not important. But it is evident that this country cannot survive,” Dodik told the Serb entity broadcaster RTRS after his proposal was rejected at the BiH Presidency session.