Serbian PM Says Russian Secret Services Warned Belgrade about Protests

Prime Minister of Serbia Ana Brnabić has stated that Russian secret services provided the Serbian authorities with information about possible incidents at protests in Belgrade.

Ana Brnabić in an interview with Pink TV claims that she personally communicated with Western diplomats to inform them about the information provided by the Russian secret services, but they allegedly did not take this information seriously.

"We had information from services that warned us about this. First of all, this information was provided to us by the Russian secret service, but (representatives of Western countries – ed.) accused us of spreading disinformation and that it was nonsense.

They laughed, and as the president (Aleksandar Vučić – ed.) said, some took it seriously, some wanted to help, and many knew and did not want to help," she said.

Brnabić also compared the events in Belgrade with the Ukrainian Revolution of Dignity, saying there will be "no new Maidan" in Serbia.

In addition, the Serbian PM accused the Serbia Against Violence opposition coalition of an attempt to "violently destabilise the state."

On the evening of 24 December, a protest was held in Belgrade against the results of the parliamentary elections in the country, the participants of which tried to break into the city hall building.

Thousands of people gathered in front of Belgrade City Hall at the invitation of the Serbia Against Violence opposition coalition. This was the seventh protest against the results of the parliamentary elections in Serbia, which the opposition claims were held with numerous violations.

Representatives from the opposition wanted to speak from the balcony of the city hall, but the police prevented them from doing so by using tear gas.

The results of early elections in Serbia indicate that President Aleksandar Vučić's political party won.

The Serbia Against Violence (SPN) opposition coalition announced serious violations of the electoral law in the Belgrade City Council elections. Since then, hundreds of SPN supporters have been rallying outside the State Election Commission in Belgrade.