The National Security Agency (ANB) is checking whether the information that an assassination attempt is being prepared against the President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, which it recently received through sources from abroad and informed his cabinet and the Police Directorate (UP) about it, is accurate, Vijesti has learned.
In responses to Vijesti’s questions about the possible serious threat to the head of state, the Police Directorate and Milatović’s cabinet confirmed the existence of such information, while the ANB did not respond.
“The Cabinet of the President of Montenegro has been informed that the credibility of the information about the possible threat to the security of the President of the State, Jakov Milatović, is being examined. We have not received any further details. We have been informed that the competent authorities have taken the above into consideration and processing and we are awaiting further information,” Milatović’s public relations office responded.
The Police Directorate stated that “the security of President Milatović is not at risk,” but that the information about this possibility is being checked, without wanting to say what it is specifically about, “taking into account the nature of the information and the need for confidentiality of data.”
The UP claims that they are aware that the Agency “established communication” with Milatović and his cabinet regarding the information received, the source of which is “not known”.
One of Vijesti’s interlocutors, familiar with the data from the Montenegrin secret service, said that the information about the alleged planning of the assassination of Milatović reached the ANB indirectly from two related sources, from two countries in the Western Balkans.
These sources allegedly reported that the alleged main organizer is a retired high-ranking officer of a former army in the region, and the direct perpetrator would be a person from Montenegro.
“The people who provided the information are connected to the services of a country in the region. Given the way in which it was said that it was allegedly planned, I am not sure about the credibility of the data, but everything needs to be checked”, said the interlocutor familiar with the information.
When asked who could have had the motive for the assassination of Milatović and what, the source said that he did not know, except for “destabilizing the country”.
In their responses to Vijesti about Milatović’s possible threat, the UP added that they and the ANB “had previously… had information about possible threats to other protected persons, which after checks turned out to be incorrect.”
