Committee print
Download 0.63 Mb. View original pdf
|
| Ibid. 442 ‘‘Russia Says It Won’t Extradite Suspect In Montenegro Alleged Coup Attempt Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Nov. 1, 2017. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Comment by the Information and Press Department on Invitation for Montenegro to Start Talks on Joining NATO Dec. 2, 2015. Statement of Vesko Garcevic, Professor of the Practice of International Relations, The Frederick Pardee School of Global Studies, Boston University, Russian Interference in European Elections, Hearing before the US. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, June 28, 2017, at 5. Ben Farmer, Reconstruction The Full Incredible Story Behind Russia’s Deadly Plot to Stop Montenegro Embracing the West The Telegraph, Feb. 18, 2017. 446 Garcevic, Russian Interference in European Elections, at 5. 447 Ibid. 448 Janusz Bugajski & Margarita Assenova, Eurasian Disunion Russia’s Vulnerable Flanks The Jamestown Foundation, June 2016. 449 Garcevc, Russian Interference in European Elections, at 4. lowed to return to Russia. 441 The Russian government denies any role in the attempted coup plot. 442 The purpose of the coup plot was to create such discord in Montenegro that its NATO bid, or any prospects for integration with Europe, would be disrupted. Russia sought to destabilize Montenegro in the same way that it had Georgia and Ukraine, seeking to render it incapable of integration with Western democracies. This coup attempt, however, was not a one-off event, but the culmination of a sustained propaganda and interference campaign to persuade the Montenegrin people to oppose NATO membership. Following Montenegro’s announcement of its intention to join NATO, the Russian government spoke out forcefully against the bid in the hopes of swaying public opinion. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared that to launch NATO accession talks with Montenegro is an openly confrontationist move which is fraught with additional destabilizing consequences for the system of Euro-Atlantic security and said the move directly affects the interests of the Russian Federation and forces us to respond ac- cordingly.’’ 443 That response would come in short order. Soon after Montenegro announced its intention to join NATO, Russia unleashed a propaganda campaign that included support for pro-Russian political parties and the cultivation of anti-NATO civil society groups. 444 The Democratic Front (DF) political party, believed to have received millions of dollars in Russian support, has grown from being a marginal force into Montenegro’s main opposition party. 445 Sergei Zheleznyak, a former Deputy Speaker of the Russian Duma, reportedly traveled to Montenegro to work with members of the Democratic Front. 446 On one such visit, he allegedly sought to advance the idea of neutrality for Montenegro, calling it the Balkans Switzerland and encouraged DF activists to use it as a messaging tool to push back against NATO membership. 447 The DF was very active throughout the debate on NATO, which sometimes resulted in violence. For example, activists from the DF were behind a demonstration in October 2015 which led to clashes with police. 448 Propaganda also flowed freely through Sputnik and the pro-Rus- sia web portals inf4.net, and Russia reportedly directed resources to the nongovernmental organizations NO to War, NO to NATO and the Montenegrin Movement for Neutrality to push back publicly against NATO accession. 449 VerDate Mar 15 2010 04:06 Jan 09, 2018 Jkt PO 00000 Frm 00084 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6601 S:\FULL COMMITTEE\HEARING FILES\COMMITTEE PRINT 2018\HENRY\JAN. 9 REPORT FOREI-42327 with DISTILLER 79 450 Congressional Research Service, ‘‘Russian Influence on Politics and Elections in Europe June 27, 2017. 451 Download 0.63 Mb. Share with your friends:
|