Bulgaria, Romania, North Macedonia and Montenegro with joint efforts against the crisis provoked by the war in Ukraine

bulgaria romania north macedonia montenegro joint efforts against crisis provoked war ukraine

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16:36, 28.03.2022

Securing liquefied natural gas from Turkey and Greece, using existing pipelines in an alternative way by reversing the direction of gas flow from the south - through Turkey, and building transport corridors in the region - important not only for connectivity but also for military mobility, were discussed by the prime ministers of Bulgaria, Romania, Montenegro and North Macedonia at a meeting in Sofia on March 28.

Bulgarian Prime Minister, Kiril Petkov, said that two main corridors were discussed - Corridor 8, which would connect Podgorica - Duras - Skopje - Sofia - Dimitrovgrad - Varna, and also a corridor that would pass through Alexandroupolis - Bourgas - Varna - Constanta.

"My dream is to have coordinated Balkans on all topics. If this continues as we started, if cross-border cooperation is activated and we have a common defence strategy and economic cooperation, we can become the fastest growing region and working together will improve the lives of our fellow citizens," Kiril Petkov said.

The prime ministers of the NATO member states from South-East Europe have discussed the refugee crisis, stocks of wheat, sunflower and oil and Ukraine's post-conflict reconstruction. Meetings of relevant ministers on these topics are forthcoming.

"Russia has stopped wheat exports and Ukrainian ports are closed and cannot transport goods. We are also worried about fertiliser shortages - export bans in both countries. This could lead to supply problems across Europe. Fortunately, such crops are grown on our territory. That is why we have discussed organising a meeting of agriculture ministers and ensuring that food security is a regional matter, not just a national one. The aim is to coordinate and help each other so that there are no shortages in the region."

The eradication of corruption was also a focus of the meeting.

"Local corruption in many cases is a tool used by the Russian Federation to influence the region. Corrupt people are very often representatives of foreign interests. These are not just topics for discussion, but tasks to continue working on. The Balkans should become a symbol for a coordinated region where things happen," Bulgarian Prime Minister, Kiril Petkov, said.

This is a new beginning for us, which will enable us to start real work on what is really important - to talk less and work more - to work together, jointly, Montenegro’s Prime Minister, Zdravko Krivokapic, said.

"We need to make ot possisble for all refugees to have access to everything that the citizens of Bulgaria and Romania have. I see that you are doing this and I express my admiration for you," he said.

Krivokapic said the summit talks would help the Western Balkan countries "act together in a smart way".

"I think that we in the Western Balkans are very wise and smart, and it seems that this has not been taken into account. Now is the time to act together and ensure a better quality of life for all citizens," he said.

We need to put the past behind us, we need to think about the future and the development of policies that will also ensure a better standard for our citizens. This includes interconnectivity between countries.

Today, as NATO allies, we have sent another strong message of solidarity to Ukraine, also for future coordination and increased communication between the four countries in the region," said Republic of North Macedonia’s, Prime Minister, Dimitar Kovacevski.

"The meeting contributes to the cooperation in terms of protection from potential threats and support to address the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. This war has created a new reality in our lives, in all aspects. Especially to coordinate efforts in food production, supplies, energy production and supply, and also in the area of defence. Once again, we condemned Russia's military aggression and support Ukraine's territorial integrity," he said.

The Republic of North Macedonia coordinates its foreign policy with the EU and shares the same values as the EU and NATO countries. EU enlargement is also becoming a security policy and stopping the process leads to instability in the region because it creates the possibility of malign influences from third countries, Kovacevski said.
He said that the RNM remains strongly committed to maintaining good neighbourly relations with all countries in the region.

Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca stressed that we are all aware of Russia's malign influence in the region. Therefore, the four Prime Ministers have decided to respond by strengthening resilience in the region, which includes countering fake news, increasing energy independence and greater cooperation with each other.

"Joint action is key to resolving the conflict, which is why our colleagues and I have decided to be firm in our strategic orientation towards NATO. We discussed ways to help strengthen the eastern flank. Our countries already have experience in regional defence cooperation and this can be useful. There is no doubt that Russia is the biggest threat to the region. We need a stronger defence to prevent its future actions," said Nicolae Ciuca, Prime Minister of Romania.