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Serbian president says Russia warns of preparations for Western-backed coup

"Those who dream of achieving something by force will fail," Aleksandar Vucic said

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic

© AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic

BELGRADE, August 9. /TASS/. Moscow has warned Belgrade of preparations for mass riots initiated by representatives of Western countries, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told reporters.

Asked about Western preparations for a coup in the country, he said: "Today, we received official information from the Russian Federation."

"The information was provided through formal channels and we are working to sort it out. The Security and Information Agency (Serbia's intelligence body - TASS) is responsible for that; besides, people in the Serbian government and other agencies who specialize on these things are doing their job," Vucic stressed.

"Those who dream of achieving something by force will fail. Serbia is consistently moving forward and they cannot and will not stop it. They will never be able to stop it again. This is my message to everyone, and our people have nothing to worry about," the head of state concluded.

Earlier, the Vecernje Novosti newspaper reported that members of Serbia’s opposition were ready to take advantage of the pro-Western protests in Belgrade planned for August 10 to seize the presidential palace, eliminate the head of state and launch the same scenario as in Ukraine.

Russia’s assessments and opposition’s calls

According to Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, the assessment of the situation in Serbia indicates that malicious forces have resumed attempts to sow instability.

On July 19, Serbia and the European Union signed a memorandum of understanding on strategic partnership in the field of raw materials, which called for environmentally clean production of lithium in Serbia. The Serbian opposition is strongly opposed to possible lithium mining, saying it could put at risk the lives of people and harm the environment, and calling for nationwide protests.

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