Serbian president says he received coup warning from Russia
Russia warned Serbia about a potential coup attempt, President Aleksandar Vucic told journalists on Friday. His statement came a day before an expected protest in the nation’s capital. According to Vucic, Serbia’s Security Intelligence Agency (BIA) is already acting on the leads provided by Moscow.
“We received official information from the Russian Federation, information transmitted and brought through official channels,” the president said, adding that the authorities “are dealing with it” and there is no reason to worry.
Vucic did not elaborate on where the threat comes from or who is behind it. “Serbia is moving forward and they cannot and will not stop it,” he said
Earlier, Serbian news outlets reported that the Russian security services warned Vucic about riots that are being planned in Serbia with the ultimate goal of overthrowing the nation’s leadership.
Serbian daily Vecernje Novosti said on Friday that it obtained a “color revolution handbook” supposedly published for participants of ecological protests expected on Saturday. The handbook describes methods reminiscent of color revolutions in other nations, the outlet claimed, adding that the protests are likely to be coordinated from “centers of power” abroad, but did not accuse anyone in particular.
The news comes as the nation braces for ecological protests this weekend. In July, there was a standoff between eco-activists and the government over a lithium mine project. Last month, Belgrade granted British-Australian company Rio Tinto a license to develop a lithium mine in the Jadar region in the western part of the country, which is set to become the biggest in Europe, according to Reuters.
The project did not sit well with local farmers and villagers, who argued that the mine would severely pollute the surrounding area. Activist and farmer Zlatko Kokanovic told Reuters that the mine would “free the European Union from reliance on China” regarding lithium at the expense of people’s health.
The government believes the $2.4 billion Jadar lithium project will be a major boost for the economy. The mine could account for 90% of the EU’s needs for lithium, according to Reuters. Protesters have demanded that the government ban lithium mining in Jadar by August 10, saying they will announce their next steps at a rally on Saturday.
