The Office of the High Representative (OHR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina was established in 1995 immediately after the Dayton Agreement, which ended the war in Bosnia, and was created to give a mandate to international organizations to oversee the peaceful implementation of the agreement.
The OHR, which is the highest political body in the country, had its mandate extended until June 2008 in February 2007.
Vitaly Churkin said that "the principal goals arising from the Dayton Accords have been achieved," adding that a stabilization and association agreement between BiH and the EU was to be signed within the next few days.
He expressed hope that there would be "no artificial delays" in scaling down the OHR operations in the country.
"It is perfectly obvious that the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina is no worse than in a number of other Balkan states, where there are no High Representatives," Churkin said.
The High Representative and the OHR represent countries involved in the Dayton Accords through the Peace Implementation Council. The High Representative is now also the EU's Special Representative.
