The Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia & Herzegovina Milorad Dodik went on February 4 to the Prosecutor’s Office, where he testified about an Orthodox icon he had gifted to Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. 

The icon has become the subject of international controversy after Ukrainian officials claimed it might have been stolen by mercenaries in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Luhansk. The value of the icon is estimated at €12.5mn.

Dodik confirmed to the daily Avaz that he was called to the Prosecutor's Office “as a witness and that he was not presented with any criminal act, indictment or similar”. During the meeting with prosecutors, he was asked “banal things like who arranged Sergei Lavrov's visit”, the president added.

When asked where the icon is and whether it is still in a vault in East Sarajevo, Dodik did not answer specifically. He reiterated previous views on the case and said he had “finished making statements about the icon”.

The icon was kept in the Banke Srpske vault until its bankruptcy, and later was deposited with the Lithuanian-owned UKIO bank. It is not known when and how the icon got into the Bosnian bank, Balkan Observer for Ukraine reported with reference to the Bosnian BN TV channel.

Dodik said earlier that he would hand over the icon, which Lavrov had returned following Kyiv’s complaint, to Ukraine, but only if the Ukrainian authorities prove that they had demanded it before his meeting with Lavrov.

The Bosnian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that a meeting will be held between Foreign Minister Bisera Turkovic and Ukraine’s ambassador to Bosnia.