Humza Yousaf is standing by the climate review which paused the promised A96 dualling project, despite losing the Green party from his government.
The review was a key part of the deal between the two parties.
That coalition was abruptly cut short in a surprise statement on Thursday morning.
Asked if that means the road can now be built, Mr Yousaf told the P&J it remains an important consideration.
But he said “watch this space” about a review of government plans in the coming weeks.
Losing the Greens does not diminish the focus on a climate emergency “one bit”.
‘Nowhere to hide’
Some Greens in the region have been calling for an end to the SNP-Green deal specifically to speed up progress on policies such as the A96.
Earlier this week, Moray SNP councillor Jeremie Fernandes, in Elgin City North, said the road will be looked at “more pragmatically”.
However, the loss of Greens also means the SNP has no one to hide behind when money is tight.
North East Tory MSP Liam Kerr also pushed for progress during first minsiter’s questions, two hours after the SNP-Green coalition was ended.
He said: “Humza Yousaf now has nowhere to hide on the dualling of the A96 following the announcement that his coalition with the Greens has ended.
“If he had any backbone, he would have admitted that spending £5 million of taxpayers’ money on reviewing the project was a mistake and that he would rectify it by pushing ahead with the promised plans in full.”
‘Climate deniers’
In Holyrood, Mr Yousaf blamed Tory cuts from Westminster for making spending decisions even harder.
And he criticised suggestions the climate emergency is no longer important, given record temperatures and weather disruption.
“Liam Kerr talks about an unnecessary climate review in the face of all that evidence,” he said.
“That is why the Conservative Party is fast turning into a party of climate deniers, when what we need is further climate action, which we will promise to bring forward.
“The reality of the situation is that, in real terms, there will be a £1.3 billion cut to our capital budget over the coming year.”
Read more: Humza Yousaf boots Greens out of government saying it no longer guaranteed ‘stability’
Conversation