Ukraine asks Bosnia-Herzegovina to return icon donated to Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov without delay – MFA
Ukraine turned to Bosnia and Herzegovina with a request to urgently hand over the Ukrainian icon, presented earlier to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during his visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina, to it for detailed examinations, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Oleh Nikolenko said.
"The Ukrainian side also expressed its readiness to cooperate with the Bosnian-Herzegovinian investigative authorities to clarify all the circumstances related to the removal of the icon from the territory of our state. The full openness of Bosnia and Herzegovina in this matter would confirm that it has a true political will to develop friendly relations with Ukraine, respect for its sovereignty and territorial integrity," Nikolenko told Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday.
Also, according to him, the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine, in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO), the National Police and cultural institutions, continues to take measures, including with the involvement of the capabilities of Interpol, to establish the circumstances, time and persons involved in the seizure and moving the icon from the territory of Ukraine.
"The office of the Serbian member of the Presidium of Bosnia and Herzegovina Milorad Dodik informed the Ukrainian Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina that the icon of St. Nicholas, which the politician presented to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, allegedly 'was in the possession of a family from the Republic of Srpska' and is a 'family icon.' However, no supporting documents were provided on the legality of the transfer of the icon to the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Thus, the issue of the true circumstances of the arrival of the artifact in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the ways of its entry into property remains open," he said.
As reported, during the visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Bosnia and Herzegovina, he was presented with a 300-year-old Ukrainian icon that was previously kept in Luhansk. According to media reports, last week the Ukrainian icon returned to Bosnia and Herzegovina for examination.