Around 2.000 people gathered Saturday night in Podgorica, Montenegro, on anti-NATO protests, just a few days after Montenegro received an official invitation to join The North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Police estimated that a number of protesters are 800 while organizers said that around 5.000 came. However, other more independent estimates say that around 2,000 citizens came to the protests.

Protesters chanted “Russia, Russia”, “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia”, “No to NATO”, “Long Live Russia” and demanding a referendum on whether Montenegro should join NATO.

They were also mimicking the sound of air-raid sirens, alluding that in 1999 NATO bombed Yugoslavia (then formed out of Serbia and Montenegro) because of the Kosovo war.

One of the speakers at the protests was former Montenegrin President and former Prime minister of Yugoslavia Momir Bulatovic.

“NATO called us so they could have more soldiers against Russia”, said Bulatovic.

Bulatovic, a longtime ally of late Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, quit politics in 2001, so this was his first public political appearance in almost 15 years.

The gathering was organized by the New Serbian Democracy and Democratic people party, which are a part of the opposition coalition of Democratic Front which has organized a series of protests in October. However, some other members of Democratic Front, such as Movement for Change did not participate in Saturdays protests.

Unlike most of the protests in October and November, no incidents were reported on Saturday.