The Russian Foreign Ministry reprimanded the Montenegrin authorities
The Montenegrin authorities are making groundless claims against Russia, accusing it of involvement in the protests that have been going on in this Balkan country for three months against the implementation of a scenario of church schism similar to what happened in Ukraine.
The true organizers of destabilization are in another country, which provoked the destruction of the unity of Orthodoxy. This was stated by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova, reports
“We regularly remind the leadership in Podgorica that Russia is not in the habit of interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, and Montenegro is no exception.
If the leadership of Montenegro wants to look for those who are interfering in its affairs, they need to turn their heads 180 degrees and look exactly in the opposite direction. Maybe they will see who is interfering in their internal affairs.
References to various kinds of “hybrid” encroachments on foreign sovereignty, supposedly emanating from Moscow, are clumsy attempts to solve one’s own problems by searching for an external enemy and to divert public opinion from understanding who is really interfering in the internal affairs of Montenegro.
The situation around the “law on freedom of religion” adopted in Montenegro in December 2019 certainly causes serious concern. This topic was of global significance and had a devastating impact on the unity of the Orthodox world.
The problem should be sought precisely in this, and not in the position of those forces that speak critically of legislative “novels” and call for a respectful and equal dialogue between the Montenegrin authorities and the Serbian Orthodox Church, which defends its age-old legitimate rights and interests,” Zakharova said.
Mass protests have been taking place in Montenegro for three months now after the country’s parliament passed a law that threatens the confiscation of 650 Orthodox shrines of the Serbian Church in favor of “autocephalous” schismatics controlled by the ruling regime - in fact, we are talking about a repetition of the scenario implemented in Ukraine.
Montenegro separated from Serbia in 2006 under the pretext of “faster integration into the EU”, but has still not received EU membership. In 2017, against the will of the population, Montenegro was included in NATO by the pro-Western ruling elite without a referendum. Now about 30% of the population of this former part of Yugoslavia call themselves ethnic Serbs.
Russian Foreign Ministry reprimands Montenegrin authorities