US State Department Blacklists Gruevski and Mjialkov

The Department of State of the United States has blacklisted former PM of North Macedonia and former VMRO-DPMNE leader Nikola Gruevski and former Head of the Administration for Security and Counterintelligence Saso Mijalkov, along with the members of their closest families. From the US Department of State, they inform that the decision is made upon conclusion that both Gruevski and Mijalkov took part in acts of corruption, which damage the rule of law, democratic institutions and the trust in the government. This was also confirmed by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken via Twitter. “Today the Department of State and the Treasury Department took action to designate actors in the Western Balkans for destabilising and corrupt activities. The US and partners like the UK are holding accountable those who threaten the region’s stability, progress, and European integration,” Blinken tweeted. Former PM Gruevski reacted to the decision via Facebook, accusing that the current government in Skopje has lobbied in Washington for him to be blacklisted, saying that he feels this decision is a great injustice done to him.