12 Jan 2023 13:34

Ukrainian FM: Milorad Dodik's decision to declare Ukrainian ambassador undesirable is illegitimate

MOSCOW. Jan 12 (Interfax) - Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik has no authority to designate anyone as an undesirable person, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said.

"This so-called decision is null and void," Ukrainian media outlets quoted Nikolenko as saying in a social media post.

According to media reports, Dodik declared that Ukraine's Ambassador to Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina Vasily Kirilych is from now on "undesirable in Republika Srpska."

"Ukraine does not have an ambassador in so-called Republika Srpska. Vasily Kirilych is accredited as ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina with the residence in Zagreb," Nikolenko said.

Under the constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, "foreign policy powers are the exclusive prerogative of the Presidium of Bosnia and Herzegovina," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.

"Dodik has no authority to adopt such decisions, while his statement should be treated only as an awkward attempt to justify his populist decisions," it said.