Prime Minister Zoran Zaev fully defended his Interior MInister Oliver Spasovski, who is facing mounting allegations that he allowed the issuing of passports to a number of regional and European mobsters. The opposition VMRO-DPMNE party so far revealed five mob bosses and hitmen operating in Italy, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania and Turkey who were given Macedonian passports under assumed names. Zaev was asked today about the scandal, but also about the fact that one of the mobsters, Sedat Peker, was seen meeting SDSM party officials and businessmen linked to Zaev’s party.

I was informed that colleagues from our coalition partners were meeting with him on his request in the Skopje Bazaar and in other places. Nobody can claim they have any blame for this, Zaev said.