Trump Extends Sanctions Authority Targeting Extremist Violence In Balkans - Letter

President Donald Trump in a letter to Congress on Tuesday said he extended the US national emergency that authorizes the imposition of sanctions targeting extremist activity in the Western Balkans

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th June, 2019) President Donald Trump in a letter to Congress on Tuesday said he extended the US national emergency that authorizes the imposition of sanctions targeting extremist activity in the Western Balkans.

"The national emergency with respect to the Western Balkans that was declared in Executive Order 13219 of June 26, 2001, is to continue in effect beyond June 26, 2019," Trump said. "The acts of extremist violence and obstructionist activity... are hostile to United States interests.

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Executive order 13219 authorizes the US government to block property or impose sanctions on any individuals or entities who threaten international stability efforts in the Western Balkans.

Extremist violence, Trump said, remains a threat in what is now North Macedonia and elsewhere in the Western Balkans. Efforts to obstruct the implementation of the Dayton Accords in Bosnia and a UN Security Council resolution in Kosovo also continue to remain a threat, he added.