Hungary prepares to build new fence on Romanian border

Hungary's government has decided to begin preparations for another border fence, this one on the Romanian border, Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto told a news conference here on Tuesday.

The fence, he said, would start at the point where Hungary's borders with Serbia and Romania intersect, and would be extended over "a reasonable distance."

The minister called the move necessary since the fence running the length of the Serbian border could induce people-smugglers to shift their routes and push towards Hungary through Romania.

At this point, he said, only preparatory work would be done. Groundwork would be completed on a strip of land about four meters inside Hungary's border, so that a fence could be put up quickly if the number of asylum-seekers started to rise.

He defined "reasonable distance" as starting from the tri-border meeting point and extending to the Maros river (roughly 30 km) plus a few kilometers beyond.

Protecting borders has to be a top priority, Szijjarto said, adding that Hungary planned to do whatever it took to do so.

Szijjarto was speaking after signing an economic cooperation agreement with the United Arab Emirates.

He said refugees should seek assistance closer to their homes to make it easier to return when the conflicts were over.

He called on the European Union to offer financial assistance to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and other neighboring countries of Syria. Endit