Commander Of Russian Peacekeepers Refutes Accusations Of Assisting Military Criminals

Colonel Vladimir Demidov, commander of the Russian brigade of the peacekeeping force in Bosnia and Herzegovina, categorically refuted accusations of assisting the military criminals charged by the Hague Tribunal. He denounced as "a barefaced lie and a crude provocation" the information published in the Sarajevo-based newspaper Dnevni Avaz to the effect that Russian servicemen allegedly knew about the movements of ex-president Radovan Karadzic of Serbia, accused of military crimes by the Hague Tribunal. "Neither my servicemen nor I ever met anyone of those charged with military crimes," Demidov told RIA Novosti. The newspaper Dnevni Avaz reported that Karadzic regularly used a boat to cross the border with Serbia by the Drina and frequently stays at the Plaza Hotel outside the town of Bijeljina. The newspaper claims that military criminals feel at home in that region controlled by the Russian brigade of the peacekeeping force of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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