There are signs showing the icon is of Ukrainian origin and had been stolen from the war-torn region in Donbas.
Russia announced on December 19 that it is returning a centuries-old Orthodox icon that was given to Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during his latest visit after Ukrainian diplomats claimed it was a protected treasure smuggled from Ukraine.
"The icon will be returned to its donors for further clarification on its history via Interpol," the Russian Foreign Ministry told journalists, according to RFE/RL.
An image of the artifact and its seal had suggested it might be from the Ukrainian city of Luhansk, which has been under the occupation of Russian-controlled forces since 2014.
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Background
The Ukrainian Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina this week demanded explanations from Sarajevo after Russia's top diplomat Sergei Lavrov during his visit received as a gift a 300-year-old Ukrainian icon, originally from Luhansk, as a gift from one of the members of Bosnia's ethnically-based power-sharing Presidium, head of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik.
Lavrov's visit to Bosnia was also marred by another scandal as the Croat and Muslim Bosniak members of the country's three-man presidency declined to meet Russia's top diplomat.
The top officials – Zeljko Komsic and Sefik Dzaferovic – said Lavrov, whose nation promotes Serbian interests in Bosnia, had shown disrespect towards their state, Reuters reports.