The official of the United Russia, Sergey Zeleznyak, has confirmed today that he summoned the leaders of Democratic Front (DF) Andrija Mandic and Milan Knezevic for a meeting with the leadership of the ruling Russian party.
“Regardless of the fact that the ruling Montenegrin political group and the Western special services are carrying out political and criminal pressure against the leaders of the Montenegrin patriotic opposition, we continue to conduct an open and consistent dialogue with the responsible political forces in Montenegro,” Zeleznyak told RIA Novosti.
According to him, this dialogue is aimed at removing the “artificial conflict of Montenegro with Russia and Serbia, overcoming russophobia and serbophobia, which Montenegrin authorities have been insisting on in recent years”.
Zeleznyak, a member of the State Duma’s Committee for International Relations, said that Russian observers are concerned because “the Montenegrin regime cynically and unlawfully brings the special US representatives as a party in the internal political conflict in the country”.
He added that the authorities in Podgorica were trying to drag NATO as an instrument for “a hard pressure on the opposition forces, possibly with the use of force”.
“This approach has extremely dangerous and unpredictable consequences. In order to avoid such a scenario, a balanced approach of key international and internal forces to the crisis in Montenegro and overcoming the breakup in Montenegrin society are necessary,” Zeleznyak said.
Podgorica High Court seized Mandic and Knezevic’s passports in early July, ahead of trial for the alleged coup attempt in October 2016.
