Skopje, 22 June 2023 (MIA) - It is now the institutions' turn to decide if they want to act and investigate. We hope this sends a message to those who abuse office, for which they were elected by the people, that they are held accountable and are not welcome to the United States, says Ambassador Angela Aggeler on the State Department's blacklisting of Struga Mayor Ramiz Merko.

Ambassador Aggeler told Telma that the ongoing process of designating individuals under various sanction regimes is carefully done and may sometimes take a long time.

"US laws require the Secretary of State to designate individuals for whom we have credible evidence of corruption and publicly name the bad actors - by banning their entry in the US - which is a way to demonstrate that we support North Macedonia's fight against this disease of dishonesty. We are doing this on a global level in order to stimulate the rule of law and show those who are working in the field of accountability that they have our support," says Aggeler.

The Ambassador says Merko's name is not the only one closely scrutinized by Washington.

"We will continue to cooperate closely with those who seek to destroy the cancer of corruption in North Macedonia and build a strong, prosperous and vibrant society that all citizens deserve," adds Aggeler.

Photo: MIA archive