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| Ibid.; Ben Farmer, Reconstruction The Full Incredible Story behind Russia’s Deadly Plot to Stop Montenegro Embracing the West The Telegraph, Feb. 18, 2017. Alec Luhn & Ben Farmer, Chechnya Leader Accused of Involvement in Montenegro Coup The Telegraph, Nov. 29, 2017. Testimony of Hoyt Brian Yee, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, Southeast Europe Strengthening Democracy and Countering Malign For- eign Influence, Hearing before the US. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, June 14, 2017. Statement of Nebojsa Kaluderovic, Ambassador of Montenegro to the United States, At- tempted Coup in Montenegro and Malign Russian Influence in Europe, Hearing before the US. Senate Committee on Armed Services, July 13, 2017, at 1. At the time of this writing, the trial of the alleged coup plotters was ongoing. The Montenegrin government called for elections in October 2016 in order to bolster its case that the public supported Montenegro’s membership in NATO. As Mr. Wilson of the Atlantic Council testified, in the run up to this election it was pretty remarkable to see street signs, billboards all across the country, all part of an anti- NATO campaign. So the plan was to defeat the pro-NATO forces in this election through using the Orthodox Church, the Serbian Orthodox Church, the telecommunications company and the media empire, this small country of 600,000 was flooded with resources to tip the balance Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, who was the main backer of NATO, emerged victorious with 41 percent of the vote, which he heralded as an indication of public support for NATO member- ship. 450 It was not until days after the election that the foiling of the coup plot was made public. In May 2017, Montenegro’s chief prosecutor formally indicted 14 individuals for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government. They include the two alleged Russian masterminds of the coup, Shishmakov and Popov, who are being tried in absentia. 451 During the trial, witnesses have also testified that Chechen Republic President Ramzan Kadyrov had a role in the alleged conspiracy. Mr. Sindjelic testified that Shishmakov told him Kadyrov received a large amount of money to bribe a mufti in Montenegro to form a parliamentary coalition with the DF. 452 U.S. officials have also weighed in on the Kremlin’s complicity in the coup attempt. Ina June 2017 Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Hoyt Yee said that there were Russian or Russian-supported actors who tried to undermine the elections and probably undermine the government, if not actually overthrow the government or even assassinate the prime minister. This is, I think, consistent with where we‘ve seen Russia trying to interfere in elections around the world, around Europe, including our own country. It’s consistent with Russia’s attempts to prevent countries of the Western Balkans from joining NATO, from integrating further with Euro-Atlantic institutions. 453 And in testimony before the Senate Armed Serviced Committee in July 2017, Montenegro’s Ambassador said that the Special Chief Prosecutor, in charge of the case, has publicly stated that the evidence in this case is (I quote) ‘undisputable‘ andiron clad Despite the enormous pressure from Russia described in this chapter, Montenegro formally joined NATO on June 5, 2017. VerDate Mar 15 2010 04:06 Jan 09, 2018 Jkt PO 00000 Frm 00085 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6601 S:\FULL COMMITTEE\HEARING FILES\COMMITTEE PRINT 2018\HENRY\JAN. 9 REPORT FOREI-42327 with DISTILLER 80 455 Ibid. Montenegro’s NATO membership at this time has outsized importance, as it shows other NATO aspirants that it is possible to stand up to Russian government pressure and propaganda efforts and integrate with the West. This case should be kept in mind as the international community looks to engage another tier of vulnerable countries with aspirations to integrate further with the West. Russia should never get a veto over the decisions of NATO, and the Alliance should be willing to accept any country which meets the membership requirements and has support from its citizenry. Download 0.63 Mb. Share with your friends:
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