site.btaSerbian President Declines Invitation to Attend Independence Anniversary Celebrations in Montenegro

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has announced that he will not attend the celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of Montenegro's independence, Serbian media reported on Thursday.

Responding to a journalist's question about how he views the planned anniversary celebrations of Montenegro's independence and the situation of Serbs in the country, Vucic said: "I received an invitation to attend the glamorous celebration of their separation from my Serbia. Of course I will not take part in this. I love Serbia more than anything in the world, and to celebrate something like this would be shameful and I would spit in my own face and in the face of my people. Let them celebrate whatever they want."

Vucic said it is Montenegro's right to organize celebrations and invite global stars and other guests, but drew attention to the glamorous manner in which the country is marking its separation from Serbia.

"I just want the citizens of Serbia to know one thing – that they [people in Montenegro] are celebrating their separation from us, from Serbia, in such a glamorous way and with such joy. I have nothing more to add on this issue. I could say a lot about the incompetence of our leadership at the time [of the separation], but they made that choice. I see that they are very happy that they left Serbs and Serbia. I wish them success and happiness," Vucic added.

He also said he is certain that both Serbs and other citizens of Montenegro "will always feel Serbia as a sisterly country."

Montenegro is marking 20 years since the restoration of its independence on May 21. The country is planning a three-day programme of events to celebrate the anniversary.

During the breakup of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, Montenegro remained in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, a two-state federation with Serbia, and later in the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. The campaign for the restoration of independence in 2006 was led by the then ruling Democratic Party of Socialists, headed by Milo Djukanovic, according to the Serbian service of Radio Free Europe. Pro-Serbian parties, grouped in a bloc supporting the continuation of a common state with Serbia, opposed independence. In a referendum held on May 21, 2006, 55.5% of Montenegro's citizens voted for independence and separation into a sovereign state. After independence was formally declared on June 3, the country was quickly admitted to all relevant international organizations, including the United Nations (UN), the Council of Europe, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

The current government, led by Prime Minister Milojko Spajic, has stated that Montenegro will join the European Union in 2028 after closing all negotiating chapters by 2026.

Serbia's EU integration prospects have been stalled since 2021, when the country last opened a negotiating chapter. Since the adoption of a controversial package of judicial laws in January 2026, no funds have been disbursed under the Growth and Reform Plan for Western Balkan Countries.