Belgrade received a warning from Russia about an alleged Western-led putsch aimed at overthrowing Serbia’s ruling party, according to the country’s prime minister.
“It’s important … to thank the Russian security service, which obtained the information and shared it with us,” Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said in televised comments.
Her remarks, she added, “probably won’t go down well with those in the West.”
Ms. Brnabic’s assertions came amid violent demonstrations in Belgrade, held to protest the results of recent elections won by President Aleksandar Vucic’s ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).
On Dec. 24, thousands gathered in central Belgrade to protest the results of Dec. 17 polls, which they claim were rigged by Mr. Vucic’s party.
Police used pepper spray to disperse crowds after protesters smashed windows and tried to breach the city’s municipal headquarters.
According to police, 38 people were detained during the melee, in which eight police officers were reportedly injured.
The next day, more protests were held outside the offices of Serbia’s official election commission.
Opponents of the ruling party accuse police of using excessive force and have posted footage online purportedly showing police beating up demonstrators.
Mr. Vucic, who has ruled Serbia for more than a decade, has claimed the protests are a “color revolution” attempt orchestrated by the Western powers.
In a televised address on Dec. 24, he thanked unnamed “foreign services” for providing Belgrade with a warning about “what the thugs were preparing.”
According to Mr. Vucic, the Western powers—led by the United States—seek to remove his party from power due to its cordial relations with Moscow and refusal to abandon Serbian claims to Kosovo.
The Epoch Times has requested comment from the U.S. State Department regarding Mr. Vucic’s assertions.
While the ruling SNS supports Serbia’s longstanding bid to join the EU, it also refuses to endorse Western sanctions on Russia over the latter’s invasion of Ukraine.
Serbia’s EU accession bid also has been hindered by disagreements over the status of Kosovo, which much of the West—including Washington and Brussels—regards as an independent nation.
Serbia withdrew its forces from Kosovo in 1999 after a 78-day NATO bombing campaign against what was then Yugoslavia, of which Serbia had been the largest component.
In 2008, Kosovo—with U.S. backing—unilaterally declared independence from Serbia.
But the move was never recognized by dozens of countries, including Russia, China, and five EU member states.
Opposition Cries Foul
Serbia, which has been on track to join the EU since 2012, held snap elections on Dec. 17.According to Serbia’s election commission, the SNS won almost 47 percent of the vote.
Serbia against Violence, a recently formed opposition alliance described as “pro-European,” came in second with almost 24 percent.
The parliamentary polls were accompanied by local elections in which Mr. Vucic’s SNS also reportedly won a majority in Belgrade’s municipal assembly.
Immediately after the results were announced, the opposition cried foul, saying the polls had been rigged in the ruling party’s favor.
The opposition’s claims were supported—partially at least—by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the world’s largest regional security body.
In a report, the OSCE alleged that the polls had been marred by “irregularities,” claiming the SNS had enjoyed “systematic advantages.”
Mr. Vucic and other ruling party officials, meanwhile, have described the vote-rigging allegations as “lies.”
Serbian opposition supporters during a protest outside the electoral commission building in Belgrade, Serbia, on Dec. 25, 2023. (Darko Vojinovic/AP)
Commenting on the issue this past week, a U.S. State Department spokesman said the OSCE’s claims “should be investigated.”
“Violence directed at election authorities, journalists, and accredited observers—of which we have seen reports—is unacceptable,” the spokesman told reporters.
Moscow, for its part, has questioned the impartiality of the 57-member OSCE, which includes Russia, the United States, and Serbia.
Russia Recalls Kyiv ‘Coup’
Moscow has also blamed the protests in Belgrade on unnamed “third parties.”“There are attempts by third parties, including some from abroad, to foment unrest in Belgrade,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Dec. 25.
On Dec. 26, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, Moscow’s envoy to Belgrade, claimed that people “from all over Serbia” were being “encouraged to join the protests.”
“This is based on experience gained in the Maidan in Kyiv,” he was quoted as saying by Russia’s TASS news agency.
In 2014, a U.S.-backed uprising in Kyiv—dubbed the “Maidan Revolution”—swept Ukraine’s pro-Russian leader, Viktor Yanukovych, from power.
Mr. Yanukovych was soon replaced by Petro Poroshenko, who set Ukraine on a decidedly more pro-Western course.
Moscow continues to view the abrupt transition of power as a Western-led “color revolution”—or “coup”—and the leading cause of its subsequent conflict with Ukraine.
