I hope the US Department of State’s decision to “blacklist” Struga Mayor RamizMerko due to his involvement in “significant corruption”, will help the Government of North Macedonia continue its efforts in the fight against corruption, the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Gabriel Escobar told the Voice of America in Albanian on Wednesday, in an interview alongside the US Coordinator on Global Anti-Corruption, Richard Nephew.
Nephew stressed that the decision has been made because the “U.S. State Secretary had reliable information suggesting that Merko was involved in significant corruption.”
“According to the legislation, when the state secretary reaches such a conclusion, the designation is legally binding, as was the case today,” said Nephew. He stressed that the decisions aim to demonstrate the US support for the rule of law and efforts to tackle corruption globally.
