The Special Prosecutor’s Office’s cases have to have a future; that’s the red line which mustn’t be crossed in the negotiations with the opposition, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said in an interview with Sitel on Friday.

According to Zaev, the government would find it acceptable if the opposition nominated a candidate to lead the new prosecutor’s office, provided they were then elected by a parliamentary majority and approved by the Council of Public Prosecutors.

The new prosecutor’s office should take on all cases of high corruption, including the Racket investigation, Zaev said.

“This person has to be a proven ‘heavyweight’,” Zaev added. “Nominating Nikola Gruevski, Vladimir Pancevski, Jovan Ilievski or Marko Zvrlevski is out of the question.

“The reason is the future of the cases. The government and I are fighting to guarantee their future after the transfer.

“These cases have to have a future beyond the SPO, and Mickoski and his team are asking that the cases be pardoned, swept under the rug, destroyed.

“The future of the cases is the red line that mustn’t be crossed,” Zaev said.

Asked about the Racket case, he said that whoever was involved in wrongdoing should be prosecuted.

“Citizens are waiting for answers,” Zaev said. “There’s no reason to be afraid of Racket. The investigation will show who’s been involved, and they should be held accountable.”