In the aftermath of Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita’s resignation, Moldova’s President Maia Sandu accused Vladimir Putin of orchestrating a coup plot involving protestors from Balkan states Serbia and Montenegro.
Sandu said that Moldovan authorities had confirmed intelligence offered by Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting with EU officials last week, in which the president laid out details surrounding a coup plot against Moldova. Speaking on television, Sandu said the plan involved sending protestors from Russia, Serbia, Montenegro, and Belarus, along with regional crime groups, to attack government buildings, take hostages, and install a pro-Putin government.
“The purpose of these actions,” continued Sandu, “is to overthrow the constitutional order, to change the legitimate power from Chisinau with an illegitimate one, which would put our country at the disposal of Russia, and would stop the process of our European integration, so that Moldova can be used by Russia in the war against Ukraine.”
Serbia and Montenegro, however, say they were never involved in these briefings, and this is the first time they have heard the allegations. Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic rejected the Moldovan president’s claims, saying that Belgrade “demands that the Moldovan authorities urgently send us any information in their possession because we have never received such notification from Moldova to date”.
Montenegrin Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic said that if Moldova can provide more information, “we are more than willing to hear it”.
Sources in Chisinau told Balkan Insight that Moldova will resolve the situation with Serbia and Montenegro diplomatically. Sandu’s allegations follow a tumultuous period for Moldova, in which its Prime Minister resigned following worsening economic conditions due to Russia squeezing natural-gas supply, and on Friday firing a missile to Ukraine through Moldovan airspace.
