Skopje, 3 October 2024 (MIA) - Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Aleksandar Nikoloski told journalists Thursday that he stands behind his statement on the issue with Bulgaria and urged a joint solution for a railway connection.

“I can't and don’t want to do what the Bulgarian politicians are doing, to say who should lead Bulgaria, but what I can say is that it is regretful that they are doing this to the relations between Macedonia and Bulgaria. We have never been more distant, which I think says a lot about the energy they have negatively injected into our relations, so I stand behind every word I’ve said on this issue. The construction of the railway is a completely different issue and if there are at least a few responsible people on the other side, and I believe there are, then we will find a joint solution to connect by rail,” Nikoloski said at a press conference marking the Government’s first 100 days in office.

The Deputy PM said he expects rational dialogue with Bulgaria on the railway, stressing that one of the best options would be for the two countries to jointly present shared projects to potential contractors.

“Perhaps they will be braver after the elections, we must find a joint solution that is feasible so that we can have a railway connection between Skopje and Sofia and to the Black Sea. Through a rational, fair discussion, I expect them to say whether that route works best for them or whether they have a better one, so that we can find a solution. We also need to revise the estimated cost, since I think the prices are inflated and unrealistic, so that we can find more realistic prices,” Nikoloski said.

The Deputy PM added that, since the EU is drafting the tender, he would insist for it to require the contracting company to come from an EU member state or a candidate or to have built at least a certain number of kilometers of rail in an EU member state. “It is a significant project, and we can’t have unserious companies working on it,” he underlined.

Nikoloski reiterated that there cannot be a feasible project until the two parties sit down for talks and come to a joint agreement.  

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