In an interview with Radio Free Europe, President Stevo Pendarovski said that he would not pardon Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, or any of his associates, if they’re charged with crimes.

Pendarovski was asked about his vague proposal for a reconciliation, which the opposition VMRO-DPMNE party said would lead to getting Zaev off the hook, again, for his crimes and corruption.

I made my position clear and I will do so again. I have no intention to pardon Zoran Zaev or anybody close to him, now or in the next five years, if it is determined that they have perpetrated crimes. I can say that I will stick to this by the end of my mandate, Pendarovski said.

Zaev was pardoned by President Branko Crvenkovski in 2008, of the charges that as Mayor of Strumica he entered into a corrupt deal with a company he was also doing business with. Then in 2015, Zaev was charged for his role in the illegal wiretapping and the abuse of the systems of the UBK intelligence agency, initiated by former UBK chief Zoran Verusevski. These charges went nowhere as Zaev loyalist, now disgraced Special Prosecutor Katica Janeva, took over the case.

Also in 2015 it was revealed that Zaev was investigated for another local corruption case, in which he asked for hundreds of thousands of euros from a Strumica businessman in order to sell him a piece of publicly owned land. Despite clear video evidence, Zaev was acquitted by the court in 2018, given that by then he was Prime Minister and had significant power over the judiciary.
He is now implicated in the Katica Janeva scandal, after allegations that the Special Prosecutor was extorting millions of euros from businessmen, using intermediaries, and relying on her proximity to the Zaev Government for additional cover and influence.