The icon presented to Lavrov by Dodik was taken out of Donbas and transported through Russia, - mass media
This was stated by the former head of the Association of Veterans of the Republika Srpska Army, Dragan Savic, in an interview with the deputy from the opposition Serbian Democratic Party (SDP) in the Parliament of the Rs Nebojse Vukanovic, reports "Evropeyska Pravda" citing Balkan Observer.
Vukanovic posted a conversation with Savich on his blog. He said that on May 29, 2018, in Banja Luka, the icon was presented to Dodik, who was then president of Republika Srpska, by Dusko Vukotic, chairman of the Association of Veterans of the Republika Srpska Army.
"Vukotic brought the icon from the Donbas via Russia and Belgrade," Savic said, adding that he did not know if Vukotic had any accompanying documents for this, as is usually the case under such circumstances.
According to the published information, Vukotic went to Donbas in 2018 as the chairman of the Association of Veterans of the Republika Srpska Army to participate in the meeting of the Association "Heirs of Victory". This organization is active in the occupied Crimea and Donbas. Representatives of the "authorities" of Luhansk and Donetsk allegedly handed over to the head of Serbian veterans an icon with the image of St. Nicholas, which he then brought to Dodik.
This refuted the statement of Dodik's representatives that the icon belonged to a family from Banja Luka for the last 15 years.
On the eve of Radovan Kovacevic, an adviser to Dodik, in a TV interview said that the icon has belonged to a family from Banja Luka for the last 15 years.
"What a family icon you are talking about, it's all lies and fraud," Savich said, commenting on the story.
Vukotich neither confirmed nor denied the accusations against him, saying only that the investigation should be conducted by Interpol.
"I'm not going to defend myself and thus feed various madmen! Everyone knows that Interpol is working on this case. This is the world's largest security agency! Let people do their job! I am always available to them, as well as to all agencies in the state, where many of us live among madmen seeking media attention! " Vukotich told the reporters.
Meanwhile, the icon, which Lavrov decided to return, has already been handed over to the BiH Embassy in Moscow, after which Bosnian ambassador Zeljko Samardzhiya brought it to Sarajevo on Friday and handed it over directly to Dodik's associates. Dodik's office announced that the icon is currently kept in a safe.
The embassy of Ukraine in BiH asked to officially explain how the icon got to Bosnia, noting that it is quite logical to return the icon to Ukraine since it is its property.
