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Germany denies sending chartered trains to pick up refugees

Xinhua, August 31, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Germany Interior Ministry rejected media rumors that the German government was bringing Syrian refugees to Germany on chartered trains, German Tagesspiegel newspaper reported on Monday.

"Those who come to Hungary must be registered there and perform the asylum procedure there," said a spokesman for the ministry here on Monday.

Freelance journalist Marta Orosz first reported on Twitter on Sunday that Germany was providing chartered trains for Syrian refugees trying to travel from Hungary to Germany.

The press attache of the Hungarian Embassy in Berlin, Anzelm Barany, said the report on chartered trains carrying civil war refugees from Syria was wrong.

"There are no such trains," he told the Tagesspiegel, adding that this was "a very dangerous message, because more and more refugees gather at the station. When they hear those hoaxes, they are getting increasingly impatient and the situation is getting worse."

German government spokesman Steffen Seibert also denied on Twitter that Germany was sending charter trains to Budapest to pick up refugees.

"EU laws call for Hungary to register all refugees and for them to apply for asylum in Hungary," he said.

As the Tagesspiegel learned from Hungarian government circles, the Hungarian Interior Ministry had turned down considerations to use chartered trains to allow civil war refugees to enter Germany.

The ministry also referred to the fact that almost none of the Syrian refugees had the necessary papers to exit. Endit