In an interview with the Greek ANA MPA news agency, Macedonian Interior Minister Mitko Chavkov called on the Greek Government to work together with Macedonia in order to improve the coordination on the major refugee crisis the two countries are faced with. Chavkov said that following the Macedonian declaration of a crisis situation on the border, there has been some improvement in cooperation from the Greek side, but much more needs to be done.

"In the past years, on my part and on the part of my predecessor, we invested a lot of effort in attempts to improve police cooperation. We suggested that we introduce cooperation at the level of police commissioners, but to no avail. We could have introduced improved cooperation that would benefit the citizens of both our countries, but there was no positive response. Now is the time to show that friends and neighbours can mutually support each other", Chavkov said in the interview. Macedonian police has reacted to the Greek counterparts on what they claim is a decision to completely give up on securing the border on the Greek side, which turned it into the main exit point for refugees from the Middle East that use Greece as a first stepping stone toward reaching the more prosperous countries of Europe.

Asked by the Greek news agency why Greece was not part of the recent meeting between Interior Ministers of Macedonia, Serbia, Hungary and Austria, Chavkov said that this interview is an open invitation to Greece to join in.

"Greece is a key link in the chain on solving the problem of migration. It is one of the most critical countries, as the first European Union country where the refugees enter. For the sake of our citizens and for the sake of the thousands of refugees crossing through our countries daily, we on our side are prepared to set aside all our differences", Minister Chavkov told the ANA MPA news agency.

The number of refugees crossing the Greek border near Gevgelija has risen to between a thousand and several thousand daily, and Chavkov adds that the capabilities of Macedonia to handle this influx are sometimes overwhelmed. "We have trains that can carry about a thousand people a day to the northern border, and there are bus transportation companies that can also carry about a thousand people. But, in cases when Greece lets up to five thousand people go across their border daily, that means three thousand of them will be left stranded for the day. If this situation returns, we could have a real crisis on our hands", Chavkov said, calling for cooperation in order to provide the most humane and dignified way in dealing with the influx of refugees.

Macedonia has opened a temporary camp close to Gevgelija, where the refugees can rest and wait for the first available transportation option that would take them north. A vast majority of the refugees coming in through Greece have decided to continue their trip north, through Serbia toward Hungary, which should allow them free travel across much of Europe.