Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova’s comment on the UN General Assembly’s resolution on the Srebrenica genocide

On May 23, the UN General Assembly voted for a resolution establishing July 11 as the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica (Bosnia and Herzegovina, BiH). The document was adopted by a vote of 84 in favour to 19 against (Russia included), with 68 abstentions, while 21 countries did not vote.

This document is yet another irresponsible attempt by the West to rewrite history and seal the interpretation of the ethnic conflict in former Yugoslavia and related events that suits their geopolitical interests.

It is a resolution of a pronounced politicised and anti-Serb nature. Behind the demagogic humanitarian rhetoric, one can see a clear intention to place all responsibility for the Yugoslavia conflict on the Serbian people, thereby punishing them for their free thinking, independence and refusal to bend to NATO’s orders. Worse still, the sponsors and supporters of this document in the UN General Assembly had the audacity to declare ‘promoting interethnic reconciliation and unity of the three state-forming peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats)’ as its purpose.

We strongly believe that the move will have the reverse effect. The sponsors of the resolution and those who voted for it cannot be unaware of the difficult situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the legitimate interests of Republika Srpska (one of the two entities of BiH) have been grossly violated for a long time. The document adopted by the General Assembly will only exacerbate the existing differences, increase the conflict potential in the Balkans, and jeopardise the Dayton Agreement which provides the basis for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s statehood.

Sarajevo political representatives have been pushing for this resolution with persistence worthy of better cause, thereby grossly violating the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Dayton Agreement, which requires a consensus decision of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Their idea was strongly supported by representatives of NATO countries, which bear the main responsibility for the tragic events in Yugoslavia, including in Srebrenica. The unscrupulous sponsors of this anti-Serb initiative were Germany, a country guilty of the largest genocide in the history of society during World War II, and, unfortunately, Rwanda.

Republika Srpska has repeatedly and persistently protested against this document. Serb member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Željka Cvijanović sent letters to the UN Secretary-General and the President of the UN General Assembly, as well as to the UN member states, urging them to prevent the adoption of this resolution, which is fraught with a drastic aggravation of the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Balkans as a whole.

During the April 30 UN Security Council briefing on BiH that Russia requested, we highlighted the threats to the Dayton Agreement, including those stemming from the adoption of the resolution on Srebrenica. However, Western representatives would not to listen to us or to the Serbs. They will be responsible for the disastrous consequences.