Serbian, Russian officials agree to combat “colored revolutions”

MUP

Senior Serbian and Russian government officials agreed to upgrade security cooperation including in combating so-called “colored revolutions” like the environmental protests across Serbia.

Serbian Internal Affairs Minister Aleksandar Vulin and Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said in Moscow that “colored revolutions” are a traditional political instrument used by certain power centers and countries with the aim of undermining statehood and taking away sovereignty under the guise of democratization,” a Serbian Internal Affairs Ministry (MUP) press release said. It added that they agreed that free countries have to resist.

The pro-opposition Direktno.rs portal said that Russia and Serbia had secretly form a working group to combat the colored revolutions tasked with preventing mass demonstrations and constantly monitoring opposition activists NGOs and independent journalists. The portal claims that the initial agreement on the working group was made in May 2020 by then Defense Minister Vulin in meetings with Russian officials in Moscow. It alleged that Vulin was in Moscow to receive instructions on how to deal with Saturday’s protests.

Vulin and Patrushev said that cooperation between the MUP and Russian security services has been significantly improved in the past six months, the press release said and recalled that this is their third meeting this year.

Environmental organizations have been staging protests across Serbia against the Rio Tinto company’s plans to open a lithium mine in the west of Serbia. Environmentalists have warned that the project could lead to major pollution in the Jadar area.