BELGRADE, September 29. /TASS/. Montenegro has declared six Russian diplomats as personae non gratae, the Foreign Ministry’s press service said on its Twitter page on Thursday.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has declared six diplomats of the embassy of the Russian Federation, accredited in Montenegro, as personae non gratae due to actions incompatible with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and relations of respect between the two countries," the post reads.
Earlier, on August 12, Montenegro’s Foreign Ministry declared a Russian diplomat as persona non grata. Prior to that, on April 7, the Foreign Ministry declared four Russian diplomats as personae non gratae.
On Thursday, the Vijesti portal reported that several Montenegrin citizens had been detained in Podgorica on the suspicion of allegedly working for Russian special services. It is alleged that one of the detainees is an employee of the state administration, who "has worked for Russian special services" for more than ten years. Montenegro’s Special Prosecutor's Office has denied the detentions, but confirmed that searches had been made. The police reportedly searched the apartments of a number of citizens "suspected of creating a criminal organization and espionage."
Later, Montenegro’s acting Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic confirmed both searches and detentions in the capital.