The icon that was presented to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during his visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina earlier this month had been a part of a home collection for over 15 years and does not have any significant material worth other than sentimental value, the office for the Bosnian presidency's current chairman, Milorad Dodik, said on Thursday amid rumors around its origin
BELGRADE (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th December, 2020) The icon that was presented to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during his visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina earlier this month had been a part of a home collection for over 15 years and does not have any significant material worth other than sentimental value, the office for the Bosnian presidency's current chairman, Milorad Dodik, said on Thursday amid rumors around its origin.
The gift sparked a controversy after Bosnian media alleged that the Orthodox icon was over 300 years old and could have been smuggled out of Luhansk, a breakaway region in Ukraine's east. Russia has returned the gift, recommending a probe to clarify its origin. Dodik's office denies that the icon was stolen.
"The icon had been under ownership of a family in Banja Luka for over 15 years. They wanted it to be presented to Lavrov," Dodik's adviser, Radovan Kovacevic, told Radio Television of Republika Srpska.
According to the official, "the icon certainly has sentimental value, because it is a consecrated Orthodox icon, but it has no significant material worth."
Plenty of such icons can be found on the internet "at a cost of 100 to 200 Euros [$122-244]," he continued.
He stressed that the icon is "certainly" absent from Interpol's database on stolen works of art.
