Montenegro's President Milo Dukanovic arrives for the EU-Western Balkans summit in Tirana, Albania, December 6, 2022. REUTERS/Florion Goga
The President of Montenegro, Milo Đukanović, accused Serbia and the Republika Srpska of being “agents of Russia” in the Balkans.
Speaking at a panel organised by the European Socialists in Vienna, he said that in 2016, Russia tried to launch a coup in Montenegro to prevent it from joining NATO.
Although it failed in this, Đukanović says it was expected that Russia would not easily reconcile with the “slap it got from one little Montenegro”.
“And it didn’t reconcile. It has been waging its own hybrid war all these years,” said Đukanović, adding that then “Russian collaborators from the region” appeared.
“Remember that for four years Russia has installed two of its bases to conduct a hybrid war in the region, in Serbia and Republika Srpska. Only a blind man does not want to see that”, Đukanović said.
He added that Russia has developed its influence in numerous areas, that it has developed media, intelligence and security structures, but also economic and energy structures and that it abuses the Orthodox Church in the region.
“It is no wonder that small countries like Montenegro have not fully succeeded in resisting such aggression”, Đukanović said./N1/
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