Before Yugoslavia existed, there was very little distinction between Serbs and Montenegrins as both peoples largely held allegiance to the Serbian Orthodox Church, which directly influenced the establishment of the Prince-Bishopric of Montenegro in 1697.

[3] Weeks after this date, separatist Montenegrin Greens under Krsto Zrnov Popović started a violent insurrection against pro-Yugoslav unionists known as the Christmas Uprising on January 7, 1919.

[7][8] Montenegrin Chetniks were led and organized largely by Pavle Đurišić, a controversial commander who was killed with his army by Croatian Nazi collaborators in the Battle of Lijevče Field.

[11] Radovan Karadžić, former war-time president of Republika Srpska and convicted war criminal, is often mistaken as a Bosnian Serb—he was in fact born in Šavnik to a family from the Drobnjak tribe.

[12] Throughout his mandate, Yugoslav president Slobodan Milošević appointed several Montenegrin politicians like Milo Đukanović and Svetozar Marović who would cooperate with his regime to a great degree[13][14] and then denounce him years later.

By 23 May, preliminary referendum results were recognized by all five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, indicating widespread international recognition of Montenegro once independence would be formally declared.

Multiple Serbian tabloids, including Informer and Kurir had published articles discussing Đukanović's alleged relationship to threats and attacks on Montenegrin journalists.

Prime Minister Ana Brnabić stated the intention behind the donation is "to open a new chapter in relations between Serbia and Montenegro" and "to show solidarity in the time of crisis".

[32][33] On October 9, 2009, Montenegrin businessman Branislav Šaranović who owned the casino in Slavija Hotel in Belgrade was killed by firearms in the city's upscale neighbourhood of Dedinje by two masked assassins.

[35] Only a couple of weeks later, Tanjug released a report claiming that the long-disappeared Montenegrin drug lord Darko Šarić offered a €10 million contract for professional assassins to liquidate Boris Tadić, Ivica Dačić, and other Serbian politicians and police chiefs.