SDSM: We received a warning from ATS Group but will not apologise

Social Democratic Union (SDSM) says it received a legal warning from ATS Group but will not retract its statements, and intends to take the case to FARA and members of the US Congress who oversee lobbying. The party insists its claims are based on entries in the US registration and published reporting, and repeats questions about how the lobbying was registered and which contacts were made around a September visit.

According to SDSM, a lawyer, Bozhidar Miloševic, acting for Shefshet Demirovski and ATS Group DOOEL Skopje, delivered a demand for a public apology and withdrawal of the party's statements, with a deadline and a threat of lawsuit. The party says it will not be silenced by a warning.

Party statement and the disputed facts

In a written explanation SDSM addresses the content of the warning and restates the material it relied on. The statement includes a long passage in which the party says:

"The letter does not deny the facts we said. It changes the context. We did not say that 'ATS Group' is engaged in cocaine trafficking, or in weapons trading. We stated what is in the American register and what BIRN published. FARA 6170: Mercury pays ATS $130,000 per month. About $1.56 million annually. On April 2, 2026 the same house submitted material 'Strategic Partnership U.S.–North Macedonia'. The text lists a government-to-government package. Name of the prime minister Hristijan Mickoski. BIRN published Demirovski was arrested in Belgrade in 2019 on suspicion of bribery around data for munitions from 'Prvi Partizan'. In 2022 the case ended with opportunitet. Payment of €250,000. Payer: Aleksandar Milojević – Aca Cvećar (states BIRN). Later he was charged in a group for cocaine smuggling from South America. In the case there are Serbian and Montenegrin police officers and a BIA member. Demirovski in that cocaine case is not convicted. We said that. We repeat it. What the letter does not say: that the people who paid for his freedom are not in that. They are arrested. With names. With a channel. The payment of the opportunitet is proof that the bribery and corruption case ended with money, not with a public acquittal. On March 27, 2025 Mucunski and Misajlovski are listed at the signature ATS–MKE. That is a public record. That is why they seek an apology. Not because the register lies. Because paper hurts."

SDSM also published a second passage outlining its next steps and the questions it wants answered: "Instead of an apology, we will turn to FARA and members of the US Congress who carry out oversight. The questions are simple. Was the lobbying properly reported when the text is an agenda of the government? Did the registrant check who his client was? Which contacts were recorded around the visit in September? They will not silence us with a warning. The paper is public. BIRN is public. The gang wants silence. SDSM wants truth and justice."

At a press conference on September 24, SDSM had accused ATS Group — described by the party as a company that manufactures ammunition, helmets and ballistic equipment — of paying about $130,000 per month to the US lobbying firm Mercury Public Affairs to promote topics presented as strategic state priorities for North Macedonia in the United States.

Photo: press material from the event