Serbia, Greece oppose Hungarian anti-migration wall

Serbian foreign minister Ivica Dacic and his Greek counterpart Nikos Kotzias on Thursday expressed here their opposition to Hungary's announcement to raise a wall on the border with Serbia due to the increasing number of migrants.

Dacic said at a joint press conference in Belgrade with Kotzias, who arrived for a one-day visit, that EU should explain whether "walls belong to European history or its future," adding Serbia, Greece and Italy were most heavily struck by the sudden wave of refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan that wish to enter the EU.

According to Hungarian authorities, this year some 50,000 migrants have illegally entered Hungary through Serbia where they have arrived across Greece and Macedonia.

Dacic insisted that Serbia is sharply opposing to Hungary's announcement that it will urgently build a 4-meter-high wall along its 180 km border despite the fact, as he said, that the relations between the two countries are very good, comparing the wall to be constructed with the Berlin wall.

He announced that Serbia will initiate a regional conference on illegal migration that will include representatives from the EU, UNCHR and other international bodies.

Kotzias agreed with Dacic that the problem of migrations existed for a longer period and that it escalated because of the lack of a successful action in the region.

Kozias spoke about the problem of migrants who travel from Greece and Macedonia to Serbia, and explained that only a smaller numbers of refugees pick that route while the majority go from Greece into Italy and further to central Europe. Endit