The accusations made by Russia’s ambassador to Serbia were the latest efforts by Moscow to thwart a diplomatic campaign to lure Serbia out of Russia’s orbit.
The opposition had hoped to ride a wave of public revulsion at back-to-back mass shootings, but it was unable to convert the energy of street protests into a successful election challenge.
A deadly gunfight in a Kosovar village raised worries that the troubled Balkan region would be plunged into another conflict, with confusion and fear running high among residents. “I’d like to know who runs this place,” a mechanic said.
President Aleksandar Vucic, who has been the target of protests in Belgrade, has been playing up his role defending Serbs in Kosovo, where tensions have recently flared.
The protests, which have gathered momentum since two massacres in May, are denouncing a “culture of violence” and the increasingly authoritarian rule of the country’s leader.