E.The dispute over the role of the former Federal Minister of Agriculture Christian Schmidt as High Representative in Bosnia-Hercegovina has led to a blockade by Russia in the UN Security Council. Moscow threatened to veto the regular authorization for the EU troops, as circles of the most powerful UN body of the German Press Agency said. This should actually be voted on this Tuesday in the Security Council in New York.
The meeting at which Schmidt was supposed to speak has now been postponed to Wednesday afternoon. The previous authorization of the 15-member council expires on Friday.
Russia wants to abolish the post entirely
The background to this is a difference of opinion between Russia and some other – mainly Western – members of the Security Council. A few months ago, Moscow and China tried unsuccessfully to abolish the office of High Representative that Schmidt had assumed on August 1. The countries had argued that the position was no longer needed. Western diplomats in New York had at the same time emphasized that the Security Council did not have the authority to decide on the continuation of the post of High Representative.
The position emerged from the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement with more than 50 states. The so-called Peace Implementation Council decided there appointed Schmidt. According to a diplomat, in the ongoing negotiations on the supporting authorization, Moscow wants, among other things, to remove any mention of the High Representative in the document.
As a CSU politician, the 64-year-old Schmidt was Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture from 2014 to 2018.
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