Montenegro’s boxers barred from Moldova tournament amid coup allegations

SARAJEVO (Reuters) -Boxers from a Montenegrin club on Wednesday said they had been banned from entering Moldova for a tournament amid 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 the government of her small east European country with help from Montenegrin, Belarusian and Serbian nationals. One goal was to derail Moldova’s European Union membership bid, she said.

Members of the Budva boxing club said they were stopped by police at Chisinau airport late on Tuesday and then 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 … has ended before it had begun,” the club said in a statement on its Facebook page.

Moscow called the coup accusation “completely unfounded and unsubstantiated,” while Serbian and Montenegrin officials also dismissed the accusations and asked for explanations.

Sandu spoke to Serb President Aleksandar Vucic on Wednesday and discussed her comments about the risks of a coup, the Moldovan president’s press service said.

“The two leaders … expressed their willingness to cooperate to prevent illegal activities involving the citizens of our countries,” it said in a statement.

On Monday, Moldova barred fans from attending a soccer match taking place on Feb. 16 in Chisinau between FC Sheriff of Tiraspol and FK Partizan of Belgrade. 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.

(Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic and David Ljunggren; Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Mike Harrison)