US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said US President Joe Biden has issued an executive order to modernize the sanctions regime for countries in the Western Balkans.
Blinken added - in a statement published by the US State Department today that the executive order also provides for sanctions against people who cause instability, undermine democracy, and violate the rule of law and human rights in the region.
He clarified that it provides for the confiscation of funds and private assets acquired for personal gain or political purposes through bribery, and the confiscation of all property of persons within America involved in those acts, and generally prohibits Americans from dealing with the perpetrators of these violations.
He stressed that the United States is committed to ensuring stability and security in the Western Balkans, allowing the countries of the region to live as free and prosperous democracies, noting that this will be achieved through fighting corruption and adopting transparency.
He pointed out that Washington is aware that corruption threatens economic justice, development efforts, combating poverty and democracy in the Balkan countries, and directly harms foreign policy, national security, and the economy of the United States and its partners and allies.
He noted that Washington is committed to promoting criminal accountability and combating impunity for people involved in corruption in the Western Balkans and around the world.
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