Russian Threat in Montenegro was Severe, Report

A report by the US Foreign Policy Research Institute, released on Tuesday, said the alleged coup attempt in Montenegro was more serous than many people had realised- and that Russia was stoking political and ethnic divisions in the country in 2016 to stop its further Western integration.

The report, "Hanging by a Thread, Russia's Strategy of Destabilization in Montenegro," said the Kremlin's best-case scenario - referring to the alleged coup attempt in October 2016 - was a pro-Russian government taking power and reversing Montenegro's Euro-Atlantic course.

"To this end, Russia coordinated with local opposition and Serb ethnic-nationalists in an unsuccessful attempt to topple the democratically elected government of Montenegro," the report said.

The report, citing testimonies and physical evidence reviewed by researchers, contained new details about attempts to topple Montenegro's government on the eve of parliamentary elections in 2016, claiming that Russia was so serious in its intentions that it decided to deploy "hard power" to achieve its political objectives in the Balkan state.

"Russia's willingness to deploy clandestine operations in Montenegro underlines the severity of the threat, demonstrating the lengths Moscow will go in securing its regional interests," the report reads.

The authors of the report are Reuf Bajrovic, a former Bosnian Energy Minister, Vesko Garcevic, a professor of at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University and Richard Kraemer, a Fellow of FPRI's Eurasia Program and formerly senior program officer for Afghanistan, Iran, and Turkey at the National Endowment for Democracy.

A total of 14 Russian, Serbian and Montenegrin citizens are accused of plotting a coup in Montenegro...