Hungary is ready to boost its contribution of technology and personnel for protecting the Serbia-North-Macedonia border against illegal migration, the foreign minister has said.
Existing cooperation should be stepped up to combat growing numbers of migrants, Péter Szijjártó said in Belgrade after meeting the Serbian finance, foreign and interior ministers and Austria’s foreign and interior ministers.
While the line of defence is currently on the Hungarian-Serbian border, it would be beneficial for all countries to shift it further south, he told a joint press conference. “We have to create a large, strong and effective border protection force in order to protect the border between Serbia and North Macedonia, and Hungary is ready to contribute to the maximum of its abilities,” Szijjártó said.
Meanwhile, Hungary is under dual pressure, Szijjarto said. It has taken in some 1.5 million refugees since the start of the war in Ukraine even as its “southern border is also under siege,” he said. “That is no exaggeration, since people smugglers and migrants on the southern borders have armed themselves and do not hesitate to use live ammunition to fire at each other and the police protecting the Hungarian border,” he said.