Global Courant 2023-04-14 00:24:10
The US deputy assistant secretary and envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, in an interview for the Top Story show during his visit to Albania, also touched on the topic of persons declared ‘non grata’.
According to Escobar, it is up to Albania’s institutions to investigate corruption and prosecute persons involved in the crime.
Grida Duma: Let’s hope. Regarding the definition of non-grata, the definition of many people from the European side, we have asked the European Union, what is this, let’s say, designation non-grata for you, how does the European Union imagine it? Time has passed and we are waiting for other names from the upper echelons of politics. Is there any chance that we will have some names in Albania to see the continuation of the strong hand of the USA? As for anti-corruption and moving forward…
Deputy Assistant Secretary Escobar: Look, this has three parts. I mean, first of all, we don’t pre-screen our actions on sanctions, so I can’t really talk about that. The second thing is that we are very committed to using every tool we have, including sanctions, to fight corruption in the world. And in this part of the world, especially in the Western Balkans, corruption is the only issue that permeates all the countries of the region. But thirdly, you know, our relationship with Albania is not about sanctions. Our relationship is a mature partnership between two equal partners in an alliance and a bilateral strategic partnership. So is it actually left to the United States to make these determinations? It is up to Albania’s institutions to investigate corruption and prosecute it wherever they can. And this is the reason why justice reform is so important, because it is not up to us to do this work in the name of the Albanian people. They have the ability to do it themselves. And these governments and every government, be it this or its successor, have an obligation to the people to ensure that this happens.
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