MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian prosecutors are reviewing a request by Montenegro to help the Balkan nation investigate an alleged coup attempt during elections in October, the TASS news agency reported on Thursday.
The Kremlin has dismissed as absurd allegations by a state prosecutor in Montenegro, NATO's newest member, that Moscow was involved in a plot to assassinate the then Montenegrin Prime Milo Djukanovic and bring an opposition alliance to power.
Montenegrin Special Prosecutor Milivoje Katnic last month said Russian "state institutions" were involved in the alleged coup plot and said he wanted the Russian state to investigate.
"The Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation is reviewing the request of the authorities of Montenegro for rendering legal aid in connection with the investigation of mentioned events," TASS said, citing a statement from the prosecutor's office.
On Oct. 16, the same day Montenegrins voted in a parliamentary election, authorities arrested 20 people from neighbouring Serbia on charges of planning attacks against the state.
Opposition parties accused Djukanovic and his allies of fabricating the plot to extend their grip on power over the small Adriatic republic, NATO's newest member.