Skopje, 16 December 2023 (MIA) - U.S. Ambassador Angela Aggeler said that former Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, who spoke out on behalf of former Deputy PM Kocho Angjushev after he was designated for significant corruption, is within his rights to say anything he would like to about his friend.  

"The former prime minister is somebody who I've spoken with, not recently. He spoke out on behalf of a friend and he's certainly entitled to do so. But I will say that - as with the designation of Orce Kamchev and his organizations - what we saw was that frequently with these designations and with corruption, who you do business with can affect you and your family. And so, you know, he is absolutely within his rights to say anything he would like to about his friend," Ambassador Aggeler said in an interview with Kanal 77.  

When someone is designated by the United States, as Angjushev was, who said he will pursue some kind of remediation, Aggeler said those who have been designated are welcome to pursue their dissatisfaction with the case, noting that individuals are designated based on a legal process and evidence.  

"I will simply say that again, we do not designate individuals based on suspicions, we do not designate people based on how we feel about them, there's nothing personal about it at all. It's a legal process, and as with the other legal processes, those who have been designated are very welcome to hire U.S. attorneys and to pursue their dissatisfaction with the case. But I will say that we are confident in designating this individual because of the evidence that we have. He is welcome to pursue that, but I am confident that that announcement will be upheld," said the U.S. Ambassador. 

She pointed out that corruption is not the sole focus, but the highest priority at the Embassy is supporting the country in its efforts to become fully integrated within Europe.

"There are certain requirements of this Government in order to move forward with EU accession. We have encouraged them to make those decisions, whether it's the opposition party or whether it's the government in power, to make the tough decisions once again, to pass amendments in order to move forward. But, the important thing is that the country make the reforms that are necessary to fully integrate within Europe, including within the judiciary, but also within health, education and other sectors, to fully integrate themselves into Europe. That will make this country stronger, it will make it more stable, it will make it more prosperous, and it will bring the kinds of opportunities that people want so that they don't have to leave the country to look for opportunities elsewhere," says U.S. Ambassador Angela Aggeler.  

Photo: MIA archive