Situation at border crossing "could spiral out of control"

Situation at border crossing "could spiral out of control"

Vulin was at Horgos 1when he told reporters that this border crossing - closed today by Hungarian authorities - should be open, and refugees allowed to seek asylum.

"The Hungarian government shut down Horgos 1 without notifying Serbian authorities and now the situation is getting complicated here," said Vulin.

The minister added that migrants are "arriving from all directions" with more than 1,000 located "in no man's land" at the time he made the remarks on Tuesday afternoon.

Vulin said that Serbia will provide transportation to the nearest reception center for all of them - "but if they do not want that, no one can force them."

"Water and food will be brough here now in order to provide them with first assistance," said Vulin, pointing out that this problem cannot be solved without cooperation with the Hungarian side.

Earlier in the day, Vulin visited the Horgos 2 crossing that had another large group of refugees arriving at Horgos 1, after the Hungarian border police sent them to this crossing.

On that occasion he told reporters that what happening at Horgos 2 was "a brutal violation of the position of the Hungarian government that was formulated only yesterday."

"Only yesterday they said they would close the border for illegal crossings, not for those who wish to express their intention to (seek) asylum. But as you can see, that is not happening. This is a direct violation of the word of the Hungarian government," said Vulin.

He added that the Serbian police was not officially informed that Horgos 2 would be closed, either - "other than that they had such information."

While at Horgos 2, Vulin said that Serbia will provide "all that is needed for these people: food, water, diapers and baby food," and stressed that "Serbia is ready to accept several thousand people in reception centers."