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Vecernji list (Bosnia-Hercegovina edition), Croatia
Aug 13 2008
Bosnian Foreign Ministry: Russia's arms supply claim "a very serious
accusation"
Report by Zdenko Jurilj: "Russia Is Making Accusations; Disputable
Participation of B-H in Supporting, Arming Georgia"
The Russian Defence Ministry is accusing Bosnia-Hercegovina [B-H], as
it says in its protest, of helping the Georgian political regime, in
the runup to the war in South Ossetia, by providing weaponry and
military equipment.
The B-H institutions are not familiar with the contents of the letter
of criticism sent by the Russian administration on 7 August, in which
Bosnia-Hercegovina is accused of exporting arms to Georgia. The B-H
Presidency does not have any official reaction, either, to the
criticism by the Russian Defence Ministry, in which
Bosnia-Hercegovina, as well as a few other countries, is criticized
for exporting weaponry to the country that is marked on the United
Nations map as one with a potential war conflict.
Delivery of Weapons
We asked Deputy Defence Minister Marija Pendes if and what amount of
weapons from the specialized military industry in Bosnia-Hercegovina
was exported to Georgia.
She told us that she had been on leave this week and, therefore, was
not familiar with the Russian note, nor with the information whether
the weapons from Bosnia-Hercegovina ever reached Georgia.
"All the decisions about this kind of activities are made by the B-H
Presidency, and, therefore, I would not know at this moment what
exactly this is about," Minister Pendes said briefly.
While the administration from Moscow is "making accusations" about the
weapons from Bosnia-Hercegovina being used by the Georgian regime for
genocide against the South Ossetians, the B-H Foreign Ministry had no
official answer at the time of publishing this issue of our
newspaper. Its only comment was that "it was a very serious
accusation." Their ignorance about the most recent Russian protest is
symptomatic, because it was the Russian Embassy in Sarajevo that filed
a protest note last year against the agreement, which had already been
concluded, based on which the Bratstvo Arms Factory in Novi Travnik
and the Pretis Factory from Vogosca [near Sarajevo] were supposed to
export weapons worth more than 10 million euros to Georgia.
Weapons From War
It was about the "Hurricane" multiple rocket launcher, preserved from
the war, which the B-H army has, meanwhile, removed from its arsenal.
Ismet Briga, director of the directorate for the specialized industry,
has said that there was an approval from the B-H Defence Ministry and
the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations for the delivery,
that is, for the export of the weapons to Georgia.
[Box] Agreements Waited for Minister's Approval
The contested agreements were concluded and were waiting for the
approval of Foreign Minister Sven Alkalaj, exactly because of the fact
that Russia opposed them through its diplomatic network, by sending
the letter of protest to Sarajevo. The diplomatic protest letter
stated that Russia did not have good relations with Georgia, and that
it would not be good to deliver to Georgia the weapons such as the
"Hurricane" multiple rocket launchers, which were preserved from the
war.
[Box] They Also Accused Serbia of Exporting Weapons
Even though the export of weapons to Georgia and Armenia was stopped
in 2006, based on the recommendation of their [Serbian] Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, because of the status of Kosovo, Russia is also
accusing Serbia of exporting weapons. The press statement says that,
beside Serbia, the following countries also offered military
assistance to Georgia: the United States, Bulgaria, Great Britain,
Hungary, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Turkey, France, the Czech
Republic, Israel, Bosnia-Hercegovina, and Ukraine! The Russian
accusations hit the Serb diplomacy, which is a political friend of the
Russian Federation.
[translated]
Aug 13 2008
Bosnian Foreign Ministry: Russia's arms supply claim "a very serious
accusation"
Report by Zdenko Jurilj: "Russia Is Making Accusations; Disputable
Participation of B-H in Supporting, Arming Georgia"
The Russian Defence Ministry is accusing Bosnia-Hercegovina [B-H], as
it says in its protest, of helping the Georgian political regime, in
the runup to the war in South Ossetia, by providing weaponry and
military equipment.
The B-H institutions are not familiar with the contents of the letter
of criticism sent by the Russian administration on 7 August, in which
Bosnia-Hercegovina is accused of exporting arms to Georgia. The B-H
Presidency does not have any official reaction, either, to the
criticism by the Russian Defence Ministry, in which
Bosnia-Hercegovina, as well as a few other countries, is criticized
for exporting weaponry to the country that is marked on the United
Nations map as one with a potential war conflict.
Delivery of Weapons
We asked Deputy Defence Minister Marija Pendes if and what amount of
weapons from the specialized military industry in Bosnia-Hercegovina
was exported to Georgia.
She told us that she had been on leave this week and, therefore, was
not familiar with the Russian note, nor with the information whether
the weapons from Bosnia-Hercegovina ever reached Georgia.
"All the decisions about this kind of activities are made by the B-H
Presidency, and, therefore, I would not know at this moment what
exactly this is about," Minister Pendes said briefly.
While the administration from Moscow is "making accusations" about the
weapons from Bosnia-Hercegovina being used by the Georgian regime for
genocide against the South Ossetians, the B-H Foreign Ministry had no
official answer at the time of publishing this issue of our
newspaper. Its only comment was that "it was a very serious
accusation." Their ignorance about the most recent Russian protest is
symptomatic, because it was the Russian Embassy in Sarajevo that filed
a protest note last year against the agreement, which had already been
concluded, based on which the Bratstvo Arms Factory in Novi Travnik
and the Pretis Factory from Vogosca [near Sarajevo] were supposed to
export weapons worth more than 10 million euros to Georgia.
Weapons From War
It was about the "Hurricane" multiple rocket launcher, preserved from
the war, which the B-H army has, meanwhile, removed from its arsenal.
Ismet Briga, director of the directorate for the specialized industry,
has said that there was an approval from the B-H Defence Ministry and
the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations for the delivery,
that is, for the export of the weapons to Georgia.
[Box] Agreements Waited for Minister's Approval
The contested agreements were concluded and were waiting for the
approval of Foreign Minister Sven Alkalaj, exactly because of the fact
that Russia opposed them through its diplomatic network, by sending
the letter of protest to Sarajevo. The diplomatic protest letter
stated that Russia did not have good relations with Georgia, and that
it would not be good to deliver to Georgia the weapons such as the
"Hurricane" multiple rocket launchers, which were preserved from the
war.
[Box] They Also Accused Serbia of Exporting Weapons
Even though the export of weapons to Georgia and Armenia was stopped
in 2006, based on the recommendation of their [Serbian] Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, because of the status of Kosovo, Russia is also
accusing Serbia of exporting weapons. The press statement says that,
beside Serbia, the following countries also offered military
assistance to Georgia: the United States, Bulgaria, Great Britain,
Hungary, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Turkey, France, the Czech
Republic, Israel, Bosnia-Hercegovina, and Ukraine! The Russian
accusations hit the Serb diplomacy, which is a political friend of the
Russian Federation.
[translated]