The bearer of “European values” in action: Dragan Covic voted against the initiative to impose sanctions on the Russian Federation

BiH HDZ delegates did not support the conclusions of delegate Denis Becirovic (SDP BiH), who urged the BiH Council of Ministers to fully harmonize policies, measures and attitudes with EU official positions on the Russian Federation aggression against Ukraine.

“15 were present, six of them in favor, seven against, two abstained. From FBiH six in favor, two against, two abstentions. Republika Srpska five against. “There is no general majority, the proposal did not pass,” said the chairman of the People’s Chamber of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, Dragan Covic, after the delegates decided on the proposal of delegate Becirovic.

Delegati HDZ BiH i @Dragan_Covic glasali protiv inicijative za uvođenje sankcija Ruskoj Federaciji zbog agresije na Ukrajinu. Dva delegata HDZ-a bila suzdržana, dva delegata glasala protiv inicijative za “usaglašavanje” bh. stavova sa stavovima EU prema Rusiji. pic.twitter.com/hl6gjcB9hG

— Istraga.ba (@IstragaB) March 24, 2022

Therefore, all five delegates from Republika Srpska voted against Becirovic’s conclusions. These are four Milorad Dodik’s SNSD delegates and one SDS delegate. Six delegates from the Federation, Covic said, voted in favor of the proposed conclusions. These are five delegates from the Bosniak Club: Bakir Izetbegovic (SDA), Denis Becirovic (SDP), Asim Sarajlic (SDA), Amir Fazlic (SDA) and Munib Jusufovic (SBB) and one delegate from the Croatian Club (Zlatko Miletic) The four remaining delegates from the Federation belong to HDZ BiH. Two of them voted against the proposal of Becirovic’s conclusions, while two abstained. Dragan Covic and Marina Pendes voted against imposing sanctions on Russia, while Lidija Bradara and Barisa Colak abstained.

Here is what Denis Becirovic suggested:

“The People’s Chamber of the BiH Parliament emphasizes that the BiH authorities have defined the foreign policy goals and that the obligation of the BiH Council of Ministers is to harmonize policies, measures and attitudes with the BiH foreign and security policy.” The House of Commons emphasizes the importance of respecting the European security order, the core principles of which are contained in the UN Charter and the essential documents of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, including the Helsinki Final Act and the Paris Charter. . The People’s House strongly condemns the aggression against Ukraine and its sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence, and calls on the Russian Federation to stop the military offensive and withdraw its armed forces from Ukrainian state territory. The People’s Chamber condemns Russia’s recognition of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk regions as an act of flagrant violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and undermining the foundations of international order. “It is unacceptable to justify the Russian Federation’s armed aggression against Ukraine in any way or to be neutral in the face of the suffering of the Ukrainian people and a visible attack on the international order and fundamental principles of international law,” Becirovic concluded.

This is not the first time that HDZ BiH, namely Dragan Covic, openly supports the Russian Federation. In February 2020, the head of the BiH HDZ paid an official visit to Moscow, where he met with the President of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of Russia, Valentina Matviyenko.

“The role of the Russian Federation is irreplaceable and fundamental: it balances, creates a balance of power in the world and cannot be avoided in solving any international problem. At the same time, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), for which it is privileged to have a partner in the Russian Federation, wants to expand comprehensive co-operation with Moscow, including strengthening inter-parliamentary co-operation. And I’m prepared to say that, unfortunately, there is very little Russian influence here. I wonder if there is at least one company with capital from the Russian Federation, Russian investments, or other types of activities that would connect us more strongly. We really need that. The Russian Federation is a big market and a wise policy within BiH would allow us to discern this, without paying attention to the sanctions imposed by anyone and the obstacles that have been created. “Bosnia and Herzegovina should make efforts to develop economic, cultural and other types of bilateral cooperation with the Russian Federation,” Covic said in an interview with Rossiyska Gazeta.

Covic also met several times with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and in foreign policy he mostly followed Milorad Dodik. / Istraga /