As a responsible and reliable NATO member, Montenegro guarantees all its guests a safe, secure, and pleasant stay, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated.
The response, published on X, came after Serbia’s Security Information Agency (BIA) announced that it had “officially” advised Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić not to travel to Montenegro, citing what it described as “hostile activities of foreign intelligence services and criminal clans” operating in the country.
The BIA also claimed that, according to its operational intelligence, the leader of the Kavač clan, Radoje Zvicer, is currently located in Montenegro.
Vučić had been scheduled to attend a European Union–Western Balkans summit to be held in Tivat, Montenegro.
“In the run-up to the Tivat summit, we will do everything to ensure that our friends, allies, and partners are welcomed at the highest level and to guarantee the successful and dignified organization of this important international event,” the Montenegrin Foreign Ministry said.
“Our priority remains that no secondary circumstances overshadow the success of the summit and the shared objectives it promotes.”
The statements come after Montenegro deported 87 men who had arrived the same day on a charter flight from Belgrade, on the grounds that they posed a “security risk.” Montenegrin media described the group as Vučić’s “informal security detail.”
Radio Free Europe reported that among them were supporters of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić’s ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), as well as individuals accused of attacks on anti-government protesters.
Montenegrin police also confiscated a large banner reading “Serbia Wins,” a slogan used by the SNS at its rallies and displayed on billboards across Serbia.
Radoje Zvicer, considered one of the leaders of the Kavač clan, is on Europe’s list of the 50 most wanted criminals. He was seriously wounded in Kyiv in 2020 and has since gone underground.
In mid-May, following the arrest of Belgrade police chief Veselin Milić on suspicion of concealing a murder linked to a criminal group, Vučić made a series of accusations against Montenegro.
“They killed half of our state. The Shkaljari and Kavač clans are not located near Belgrade, but you have imported that evil here,” Vučić said.
The Kavač and Škaljari clans originate from the Kotor region. In clashes between the two organized criminal groups—whose conflict has continued since 2014 after a cocaine shipment disappeared in Valencia—more than 70 people have been killed across Montenegro, Serbia, and other countries, according to Radio Free Europe.
