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Montenegro to Indict Russian Spy Who Masterminded Coup Plot

Milo Djukanovic
Milo Djukanovic / AP
February 27, 2017

Montenegro is planning to indict the Russian intelligence officer suspected of devising a plot to overthrow the government in an attempt to block the Balkan country from joining NATO, the Telegraph reported Sunday.

Montenegrin authorities have accused Eduard Sismakov, an officer with Russia's GRU military intelligence service, of masterminding the election day coup attempt to assassinate the former prime minister of Montenegro in October.

Officials suspect that Sismakov headed a network of Serbian and Russian nationalists and paramilitaries who were tasked with taking out former Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic. The Oct. 16 plot was disrupted hours before it was set to be carried out.

Montenegrin authorities are also seeking to arrest GRU operative Vladimir Popov in connection to the plot.

Montenegro's special prosecutor Milivoje Katnic said the two Russian officials would be indicted by April 15 along with 22 others. Montenegrin authorities have already arrested some 20 people, primarily Serbian nationals, as part of the ongoing investigation.

U.S. and British intelligence agencies assisting Montenegrin authorities in the investigation have gathered evidence pointing to high-level Russian involvement in the plan. The Kremlin has denied those charges.

Sismakov served as a deputy military attaché at the Russian embassy in Warsaw, Poland, before he was expelled in 2014 for spying, Montenegrin authorities said. Sismakov and Popov allegedly traveled to Serbia last year to organize the coup plot.

The International Criminal Police Organization, or INTERPOL, has issued arrest warrants for Sismakov and Popov, but the Russian constitution bars the extradition of citizens.

Montenegro is set to join NATO in May. The Kremlin is against further expansion of NATO in Europe, and while Russian officials have repeatedly denied involvement in the coup attempt, the government has backed nationalist groups and parties that are opposed to Montenegro joining NATO.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the allegations of Russian involvement in the coup plot "absurd."

"Russia hasn't interfered and isn't going to interfere into domestic affairs of other countries, and in particular Montenegro with which we have very good relations," Peskov said during a conference call last week.

Montenegrin Foreign Minister Srdjan Darmanovic said the Kremlin's involvement in the nation's electoral process was "obvious from different levels," noting that the Balkan state is not the only country that has faced Russian intrusion into election systems.

Published under: Russia , Vladimir Putin