Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski tried to use the US Embassy in Macedonia as shield over the growing scandals involving the Bechtel contract that was negotiated by his deputy Artan Grubi. Even though the US Embassy issued a statement distancing itself from the contract, Kovacevski, during his botched visit to Vienna, claimed that the Embassy supports the deal.

The press release from the US Embassy is very clear. In it it is said that the US Embassy supports infrastructure development in Macedonia. They also support what I support – that American and EU companies are part of our infrastructure projects, and Bechtel is one of the largest American companies in the area of infrastructure, Kovacevski said.

VMRO-DPMNE responded to Kovacevski’s claim by noting that the US Embassy clearly distanced itself from the contract, and “poured cold water” on Kovacevski’s manipulations.

Kovacevski made his remarks from Vienna, where he met with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, in an attempt to increase the number of EU officials calling on Macedonia to amend its Constitution and add the Bulgarian nation in its Preamble. Kovacevski botched the visit with a speech in the Diplomatic Academy, where he used an extremely crude term to show his readiness to amend the Constitution – saying that problems are solved with “ratio and balls”.

During his visit, Kovacevski was asked by the press about the numerous issues with the Bechtel contract. He insisted that 51 percent of the work will be subcontracted to domestic companies, but VMRO-DPMNE notes that this is contrary to the leaked contract with Bechtel, which shows that 70 percent of the workers will be foreigners.

Until a day ago, Kovacevski said that 51 percent of the workers will be domestic. Now, faced with the documents,he acknoweldged that 70 percent of the workers will be foreigners. This means that our money will be flowing out of the country, said VMRO-DPMNE Vice President Aleksandar Nikoloski.