North Macedonia's PM: U.S. Sanctions Black List Not Discussed With Chollet

Derek Chollet, Dimitar Kovacevski, Skopje, Jan.11 2023 (BETAPHOTO/VLADA SEVERNE MAKEDONIJE)

The prime minister of North Macedonia, Dimitar Kovacevski, has stated that he and an advisor of the U.S. Department of State, Derek Chollet, met on Jan. 11 and discussed his country's intention to accomplish "superior rule of law, like in the EU, by 2030." He added that the "black list" of U.S. sanctions was not on the meeting's agenda.

They also discussed the constitutional amendments to introduce Bulgarians into the Constitution of North Macedonia, "considering that constitutional amendments are one of the decisions that will have to be implemented before North Macedonia's full admission into the EU." Kovacevski said this to reporters during a visit to the company Pekabejsko, where he went after the meeting with Chollet.

According to the PM, the subject of the U.S. sanctions list, the so-called "black list" was not discussed. Instead, they talked about energy security, tackling the economic crisis, North Macedonia's presidency of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) this year, European integration, the fight against corruption and the rule of law.

In the context of the fight against corruption and the rule of law, he said, they talked about progress over the past years and North Macedonia's challenges on the way to accomplishing the goal of superior rule of law, like that in the EU, as a country aspiring to become an EU member in 2030.