Retired employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MVP) of Montenegro, Radomir Sekulović, may have used the phone of his godfather Vladimir Vlatko Belojević, most likely for suspicious contacts with agents connected to the Russian services, "Vijesti" has learned.
These data, according to unofficial information, were obtained during the reconnaissance part, as part of the action coordinated by the National Security Agency (ANB).
"The police connected the suspicious contacts of Sekulović and Belojević by matching phone calls," it was reported unofficially to "Vijesti".
Sekulović and Belojević were arrested the day before yesterday as part of a wider international operation - the Special State Prosecutor's Office (STP) explained that only criminal charges were filed against them for illegal possession of weapons, and that an investigation is underway for criminal offenses - the creation of a criminal organization and espionage.
Belojević was released by the decision of the basic state prosecutor in Podgorica, Nikola Boričić, to defend himself, while Sekulović was kept in custody for up to 72 hours because the police searched their houses and found a gun and several pieces of ammunition, which was the basis for starting a criminal investigation against the two.
The action under the leadership of the secret service began on Thursday morning with searches at several locations, and the facilities of alleged members of the group who worked for the Russian intelligence service were controlled.
This resulted in the arrest of Sekulović and Belojević, as well as the declaration of six diplomats of the Russian Federation Embassy accredited in Montenegro as persona non grata by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"Due to activities that are contrary to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and Relations of Mutual Respect and Respect between the Two States," the announcement stated.
Ban for 28 people
The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) answered the questions of "Vijesti" that measures and actions were taken with the aim of denying the stay and banning the entry of 28 foreign citizens, who were "indicated as bearers of malignant influence carried out for the interests of foreign services".
They said that representatives of that institution and ANB are conducting activities against the malignant influence of foreign services.
"As part of the continuous and coordinated activities carried out by the MUP and ANB, and within the scope of their legal powers, measures and actions were taken with the aim of denying the stay and banning the entry of 28 foreign citizens. Through the operation conducted by the National Security Agency, the persons in question were identified as carriers of malignant influence carried out for the interests of foreign services. The MUP and ANB, together with other Montenegrin institutions, will continue to monitor security risks and, accordingly, undertake all available measures and actions within their jurisdiction in order to protect the national security and interests of Montenegro."
The Ministry of Interior did not answer whether some persons - Russian citizens, who are on the list of ANB and SDT, have already had their stay in Montenegro canceled because according to Article 10 of the Law on Aliens, it is foreseen that a restriction or ban on the movement of a foreigner can be imposed in a certain area in Montenegro, if national or internal security reasons require it.
Prosecutor and spokesperson of the SDT Vukas Radonjić told "Vijesti" that at the request of the SDT, submitted on the basis of a notice collected and delivered by the National Security Agency, and by order of the High Court in Podgorica, the police searched the apartments and other the premises of several citizens, due to the well-founded suspicion that the crimes committed were the creation of a criminal organization and espionage.
On the order of the SDT, the police on Thursday detained six employees of the Russian Embassy and several citizens of that country because they are under investigation by the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT), in an operation coordinated by the National Security Agency (ANB).
The activities, as stated by unofficial sources, are part of a broader action that ANB implements in coordination with international partners.
Roćen: Sekulović was a spokesman for Burzan
The former head of diplomacy, Milan Roćen, reacted to the text "Diplomat led a network of Russian spies".
"On the occasion of the ANB's action in cooperation with international partners, in which the former employee of the MFA of Montenegro, Radomir Sekulović, is suspected of espionage in favor of Russia, my name was also maliciously misused in all your media. Today in the daily newspaper "Vijesti" in an article entitled 'Diplomat headed a network of Russian spies', with a headline announcement on the front page, it is written that Sekulović came to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro at the time when I was a minister. It was also reported on the "Vijesti" portal, and last night it was also broadcast on TV in an informative show at 22 p.m. As I was informed, that fabrication was also published on some lesser-known portals, which seems to have been your source as well.
"If your journalists cared about the facts, they could verify that Radomir Sekulović worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro from 2002 to 2019, and that I was a minister from 2006 to 2012. Otherwise, a lot of what happened during my long political-diplomatic career, from time to time people try to impute me in a negative context.
"It is more than obvious that bringing Sekulović into contact with me was done with bad intentions, because in that very text it is later stated that he was the spokesperson of the MFA at the time when Dragiša Burzan was the minister (2003-2004)," he says. are in reaction.
Đukanović: Servants of other people's interests will end up in court
President Milo Đukanović said yesterday in the Parliament that some people openly serve the interests of other countries.
He said this while commenting on the arrests due to the suspicion that certain persons worked for the Russian intelligence service, among them the former spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"I already spoke about that in the previous question, branding the prime minister," said Đukanović.
He accused Prime Minister Dritan Abazović of being a contractor for the interests of "greater Serbia and imperial Russia".
"From the materials I received on the subject in previous years, it was also obvious to me, but that is not enough. It is necessary to round off the picture and to process it in the competent prosecutor's office", said the head of state in the parliament in front of the journalists.
He said that he was happy and welcomed the initiative of the competent state authorities, adding that those who think "that they can destroy the state forever with impunity" are delusional.
"Sooner or later it will end with the criminal-legal responsibility of those who served other people's interests," said Đukanović.
Moscow: The West is behind the expulsion, the answer will follow
The spokeswoman of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Marija Zakharova, said that behind the expulsion of six Russian diplomats from Montenegro, "the western trail is clearly visible".
"In recent years, in Podgorica, for selfish political reasons, they have become accustomed to unquestioningly follow the Russophobic 'restraint policy' imposed by the Anglo-Saxons, which today, under the on-duty camouflage of Ukrainian events, is reaching maximum speed," according to a statement published on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.
As she stated, it is impossible to explain otherwise how a country that is historically close and friendly in a short time became "almost an outpost of the offensive against Russia".
She recommended to the Russians that, considering the hostile behavior of the authorities in Podgorica, "take a critical approach to planned trips to Montenegro."
She stated that "hostile behavior" will not go unanswered.
Božović cannot go to Montenegro
The expelled ambassador of Serbia in Montenegro, Vladimir Božović, assessed that the decision to ban him from entering Montenegro is a blow to the entire Serbian people.
He published a video from the Dračenovac border crossing with Serbia, in which, as he said, he is waiting for a decision on the ban on entering Montenegro to be handed to him.
He announced that he would appeal against that decision.
Minister of Justice Marko Kovač said that it is incomprehensible and unacceptable that Božović is banned from entering Montenegro without any reason.
"To the official ambassador of the Republic of Serbia in Montenegro, a man who was born in Montenegro and whose parents and closest relatives have roots in our country for centuries", he wrote on Twitter and stated that these acts should be reviewed.
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