President Stevandic announced the official visit to the Russian Federation

The President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Srpska Dr Nenad Stevandic, addressing the media today, announced the official visit of the delegation of the National Assembly of the Republic of Srpska to the Russian Federation.

Stevandic said that he travels to the Russian Federation at the invitation of the President of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko.

The visit will be realized from 21 to 23 February, and beside President Stevandic the delegation of the National Assembly consists of three MPs of the National Assembly of the Republic of Srpska.

The visit to the Russian Federation Stevandic described as a regular activity that is realized in accordance with earlier signed agreements, and the visit has nothing to do with disturbed relations between NATO, USA, and Russia, nor with the actual situation in Ukraine.

"Relations between the National Assembly and the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of Russia are older than the aforementioned events in Ukraine. They were established much earlier and are not to the detriment of Bosnia and Herzegovina. On the contrary, Bosnia and Herzegovina benefits from these relations through the low price of Russian gas," said Stevandić.

He rejected the media and other spins that Srpska has been leading a pro-Russian policy.

“This is not true, because we are leading Serbian policy. We are not leading pro-Russian, nor pro-American and anti-American, or pro-Britain and anti-Britain policy. We are leading the policy of accelerated accession to the European integrations where there is consensus in BiH”, said Stevandic. He repeated that Srpska does not want to join the anti-Russian campaign and that it still sticks to the neutrality voted in the National Assembly in 2017.

In addition to the meeting with Valentina Matvienko, on the first day of the official visit of the delegation of the National Assembly, they will also meet with the first deputy president of the State Duma Committee for Security and the fight against corruption, coordinator of the parliamentary group for relations with the parliaments of the Republic of Slovenia and the countries of the Balkan region, M.E. Starsinovi.

On the second day of the official visit, the delegation of the National Assembly will meet, in separate meetings, with the President of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Volodin, and the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Vladimir Titov. During his visit to the Moscow State Institute for International Relations, President Stevandić will address the members of the Balkan Club of the MGIMO scientific student society.