United Nations Conference

In the second week after the outbreak of the war, the UN Security Council finally placed a resolution on the Bosnian War on its parliamentary agenda. Just as the Council issued this motion, the Soviet Union unexpectedly stood up and released an ambiguous statement regarding the conflict. While opposing the Bosnian civil war, the Soviet Union expressed sympathy for Serbia's actions to maintain national unity and emphasized that the issue needed to be resolved at the negotiation table with Croatia and the Muslims.

To outsiders unaware of the true situation, the statement seemed like a general Soviet call to resolve turmoil in East Asia. However, for those informed that the Soviet Union had supplied arms and equipment to Serbia prior to the war, the statement carried a deeper, more calculated meaning. Thus, when Kozlovich, the Soviet representative to the United Nations, entered the meeting room, he was greeted with knowing glances from other delegates.

Kozlovich showed no fear toward the Western European representatives. Moscow had already orchestrated every detail; he only needed to follow the script. As the meeting began, Kozlovich patiently waited for others to speak first.

As expected, the German and French representatives opened by stressing the urgent need for peace. They described the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a racial conflict violating humanity and threatening global stability. At the UN conference, they proposed imposing an economic blockade and conducting military strikes against Serbia, which had ignited the war, and Bosnia and Herzegovina as a whole.

Germany and France placed great emphasis on military strikes, arguing that only such force could halt the war's spread. Other countries, particularly smaller states whose internal affairs had previously been disrupted by rogue powers, showed little interest in these arguments, and few responded.

Kozlovich listened with growing impatience as the French and German representatives concluded their speeches. When his turn came, Kozlovich—without a prepared script—approached the podium and addressed the Security Council delegates: "Germany and France have already expressed the vast majority of our views. I will make only a brief addition."

Hearing this, the German and French representatives exchanged smiles, believing Kozlovich was not here to provoke trouble. However, what he said next gradually erased those smiles.

"Economic blockades and military strikes may temporarily prevent the situation from worsening," he continued, "but they are only short-term solutions. As you know, Serbia and Croatia have been near-permanent enemies. Even if we forcibly suppress ethnic conflicts between these two nations for now, we cannot guarantee future hostilities will not erupt."

"Instead of merely treating symptoms without addressing root causes, why don't we use our minds at the negotiation table and allow the three ethnic groups to directly partition Bosnia and Herzegovina?"

The Soviet Union was the first country to openly support the division of the country along ethnic lines.

"What exactly is Kozlovich doing?" the French representative asked, puzzled. Although France and Germany also believed that national independence was the best future for Bosnia and Herzegovina, it was the Soviet Union who had pioneered this plan from the start—it seemed like a carefully crafted scheme.

"Excuse me, Representative Kozlovich," a British delegate interrupted, raising his hand to speak first and launch an attack on the Soviet representative. "You proposed this plan so early, and you previously provided military aid to the Republic of Serbia through certain channels. Doesn't this raise suspicions of collusion?"

Kozlovich's language was deliberately vague, leaving no room for other countries to produce concrete evidence against him. Waving off the accusation, he replied, "Wait, I never said the Soviet Union appointed Serbia to divide Bosnia and Herzegovina. I did not mean that. But since you ask, I assume you want to know if I support Serbia. The Bosnian Serbs now control 70% of the territory. How could we not support them? The military aid you mentioned is entirely fabricated. The Soviet Union would not risk violating international law to help a country that offers no benefit to us."

"But you provided military aid before the war began, exploiting a legal loophole," the British representative countered.

"I repeat: it was a normal military trade, not military aid. Are we Soviets so prophetic that we knew Bosnia and Herzegovina would erupt in war? You are fabricating rumors, British representative. I don't know your source, but if you repeat this, you share responsibility, understand?"

For the first time, the British delegate was left speechless. Kozlovich's carefully crafted words left no loopholes. How could a Soviet representative so experienced in international diplomacy be caught off guard?

"Our modest proposal is this: territorial disputes must be resolved through national self-determination. The regional ceasefire line should be based on the territory actually controlled by the warring parties. If this fails, the United Nations will intervene militarily in Bosnia and Herzegovina."

On the surface, Kozlovich's statement seemed conciliatory, but in reality, it was aimed at securing the greatest gains for the Serbs. As long as they firmly held 70% of the land, even conceding the remaining 30%, they would still emerge as the ultimate victors.

"I understand this resolution is difficult for everyone here to accept, and I am willing to return for further discussion." At this, Kozlovich raised his voice for emphasis, "But I also hope everyone understands that every second we debate, an innocent Muslim, Croatian, or Serbian civilian dies. We can sit here cross-legged, drinking coffee, and endlessly discuss. But do you know the pain of those suffering in war?"

"I suspect permanent members here find it hard to grasp such pain and despair, whereas representatives from Africa, the Middle East, or South Asia must understand war far better than these pampered delegates." Even Kozlovich himself was moved, not to mention the previously silent audience.

Representatives from Britain, France, Germany, and others were stunned. They had never expected the Soviet Union—which usually relied on brutal methods—to suddenly use an emotional appeal, adopting the moral high ground to criticize European and American nations and successfully evoke sympathy from other countries.

"Peace belongs to all humanity, and hope belongs to the future. I hereby call on all sides to resolve territorial disputes peacefully, return to the negotiation table, and rebuild our homeland together!"

As Kozlovich finished, the Security Council representatives stood and gave him warm applause. Meanwhile, representatives from other major European and American nations remained seated, looking somewhat embarrassed.