02.06.2021 – 08:26
Former Prime Minister of Albania, Sali Berisha, insists that there is ‘zero facts’ following allegations of corruption recently made against him by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, saying the decision barring him from entering the US was based on ‘misinformation’ by bodies funded by billionaire philanthropist George Soros.
In a recent development in the conflict between the Biden administration and a former high-profile US ally in efforts to promote democracy in the Balkans, Mr Berisha promised in an interview with The Washington Times that he would fight baseless accusations.
He said his lawyers were preparing an insult lawsuit against Mr Blinken in a European court. A figure in Albania’s post-communist political scene, Berisha has openly challenged the Biden administration to show evidence of allegations against him, saying US officials would do well to focus on his political rivals, including incumbent Prime Minister Edi Rama, who is chairman of the Socialist Party.
“I am deeply convinced that this statement against me is based entirely on misinformation that the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, received from a corrupt lobbying process involving Edi Rama and George Soros, who are close friends.”, said Berisha.
“They have no facts. None at all. If they let anyone know, I would be grateful. “But they do not have concrete evidence based on facts, not on manipulations and slander.”, said Berisha.
Berisha, who pleaded not guilty in a letter to Mr Blinken, spoke to The Washington Times about a week after the Secretary of State declared the 76-year-old Albanian politician – the country’s first post-communist president in the early 1990s and beyond. Prime Minister from 2005 to 2013 – persona non grata. The State Department did not provide details to support allegations of corruption against Mr Berisha. He also refused to comment on Mr. Berisha’s statement that the decision to ban him from entering the United States was based on false information released by Soros-funded media outlets.
A Department spokesman who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Times ‘when the Secretary of State provides credible information that an official is directly or indirectly involved in significant corruption or serious human rights violations, then the Secretary is obliged (by U.S. law) to designate or identify that official and members close to the ‘non grata’ family “.
