Refugee crisis: Croatia "moves to Plan B"

Refugee crisis: Croatia "moves to Plan B"

"We will not be setting up a fence like Hungary, we will not send the army, that is not the solution. We did not close the border (with Serbia), only the border crossings. We accept refugees, but our capacities are small," Milanovic said, and added:

"Regardless of the fact Croatia is a transit area (for refugees), we can no longer do it. More than 13,000 refugees have entered, some exited, but most remained. We have nowhere to accommodate them any longer. We call on the EU and those who do not want to find a solution to the refugee crisis, to realize that Croatia will not be a collection center for refugees in Europe."

"We will start implementing new methods, not like Hungary. We will implement our Plan B, we will be more flexible. We can no longer accept people (refugees) in the way it is formally prescribed, by registering and accommodating them. We'll give them water, food, care for the sick, and let them move on. We will not let them walk in the streets, especially if it rains," said the Croatian prime minister.

Milanovic then added that "the problem of the refugee crisis is much deeper, and hundreds of kilometers away from Croatia," and then identified it as being "on the border between Turkey and Greece."

"There is no threat to the lives of refugees in Turkey. Greece is not supervising the Schengen border, it turns a blind eye. For some reason - Greece is doing this, and Europe is doing this. Then refugees are directed towards Croatia because Hungary and Slovenia have closed their borders. Croatia will not have hundreds of thousands of refugees while Europe is choosing whom to take in, and whom not to," said the Croatian prime minister.

Asked to comment on the warning made by Serbian Minister Aleksandar Vulin that his country would take Croatia to international courts if it shuts down the border and international roads, Milanovic replied that he had no comment - "because the eagle does not hunt for flies."