Russia on Monday accused Western countries of fomenting tensions in Serbia, a Moscow-friendly Balkan nation rocked by protests over alleged fraud in elections held on Dec. 17.
Just a day before, demonstrators tried to storm the Belgrade city hall but were pushed back by police using force and pepper spray. They reject the results of parliamentary and local elections in which President Aleksandar Vucic's party claimed a commanding victory.
A few hundred protesters gathered in Belgrade on Monday blocking a street where the ministry of public administration and local government is located, an AFP reporter said.
The vote sparked criticism after a team of international observers — including from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) — denounced "irregularities," including "vote buying" and "ballot box stuffing."
"The attempts of the collective West to destabilize the situation in the country are obvious," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told state-run news agency RIA Novosti.
The Kremlin had welcomed election results, saying Moscow hoped they would lead to the "further strengthening of friendship" between the countries.
It dismissed accusations of meddling following the protests.
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