The icon that the chairman of the Presidency of B&H, Milorad Dodik, gave to the Russian chief of diplomacy, Sergey Lavrov, was not stolen and consecrated icon belongs to the family, it was announced today from Dodik's office.

- Salvos of fabrications and untruths followed the wrong initial media presentation that this is an icon that is part of the cultural heritage and national treasure, which has not been established anywhere. This is confirmed by the fact that even seven days after the presentation of the gift, there is no confirmation that the icon is on the list of missing icons, or that anyone is looking for it, or that it is part of anyone's cultural heritage, but despite that, the spread of untruths continues – it was stated from the cabinet of the chairman of the Presidency of B&H.

The cabinet emphasized that the donated icon "has its market value, but its value is, above all, reflected in the fact that it is a consecrated Orthodox icon of a great saint, which is very familiar to every Christian."

- After the chairman of the Presidency of B&H Milorad Dodik presented a gift to the head of Russian diplomacy Sergey Lavrov, numerous incorrect allegations and false accusations were made in public by certain media, so-called experts, high officials of B&H, and even individuals from Republic of Srpska. No one and nothing, and the least disgusting untruths can spoil the fraternal relations between the two Orthodox nations, as well as the relations between the Serbian member of the Presidency and the political leadership of Russia - Dodik's cabinet said.

As we wrote, after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of B&H received a note from the Embassy of Ukraine, which requested additional information about the mentioned case, a case was formed in the Prosecutor's Office of B&H.

The intention is to clarify how the icon which is 300 years old and from Lugansk, arrived in B&H and ended up in the possession of B&H official.

In the meantime, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia announced that the mentioned icon would be returned to B&H in order to clarify its origin.