SARAJEVO (Reuters) – Fighters from a Montenegrin boxing club said they were banned from entering Moldova for a boxing tournament following allegations that saboteurs from Montenegro, among others, could be part of an alleged Kremlin coup plot.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu said on Monday Russia was planning to topple her government with help from Montenegrin, Belarusian and Serbian nationals to derail Moldova’s European Union membership bid and use it in the war against Ukraine.
Moscow Moscow called the accusation “completely unfounded and unsubstantiated,” while Serbian and Montenegrin officials also dismissed the accusations and asked for explanation.
The members of the Boxing club Budva said they were stopped by police at the Chisinau airport late on Tuesday, with their documents held for couple of hours, and then they were ordered to return on the first flight on Wednesday, without being told why.
“We deeply regret that the participation of our boxers at the international tournament ‘Pavel LUSCESCHII’ has ended before it had begun,” the club said on its Facebook page.
On Monday, Moldova barred fans from attending a soccer match on Feb. 16 in Chisinau between FC Sheriff of Tiraspol and FK Partizan of Belgrade. Moldovan border police said that 12 Serbians were denied entry to the country, although none were detained.
Moldovan airspace was briefly closed on Tuesday after a small object resembling a weather balloon was spotted. Civil aviation authorities said in a statement they had lifted the restrictions after determining there was no threat to safety.
(Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
