According to Russia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry Spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, the European Council’s decision to grant Bosnia and Herzegovina EU candidate status is a result of “expansionist efforts” of the West for “complete geopolitical conquest” of the region and the “institutionalization of the neo-colonial policy” that has been conducted in the country in the past.

The European Council adopted the decision to grant BiH candidate status on December 15, a decision which Zakharova argued has the goal to take away the right of BiH’s citizens to independently decide on their internal matters and “choose partners according to their own discretion and desire.”

Zakharova said that the EU has turned pre-accession and accession negotiations into an “instrument of economic and political coercion” and noted that “focus” countries do not participate in the drafting of decisions in Brussels but are forced to “automatically” join all EU foreign policy statements and sanctions decisions.

“We emphasize our principled interest in strengthening diverse partnerships with friendly Bosnia and Herzegovina, its entities and peoples. We confirm our commitment to protecting the fundamental principles of the Dayton Agreement as a basis for ensuring peace, security and stability in the Balkans,” she said, adding that Russia intends to “liberate” the sovereign and independent Bosnia and Herzegovina from the “outdated regime of external protectorate.”