The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expresses a strong protest against the statement by Mr.Milorad Dodik, Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, made during his interview to the periodical “Russkiy Reporter” on September 2, 2019, where he stated that the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine’s Autonomous Republic of Crimea “is a part of the Russian Federation”.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine appreciates the official position of the collegiate Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is supporting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and takes the aforementioned statement of the Member of the Presidency Mr. Milorad Dodik as his personal opinion.

Taking into account that M.Dodik expressed his intention to visit Crimea, which is temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine once again states that any visit of any foreign official to Crimea without consent of the Ukrainian Authorities constitutes an undisguised violation of Ukraine’s legislation and international law, including the UN General Assembly Resolution 68/262 dated 27 March 2014.

Protest note against Mr. M.Dodik’s abovementioned statement and his intention to visit the temporarily occupied Crimea has been sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina.