Orban "asks Serbian counterpart for understanding"

Orban "asks Serbian counterpart for understanding"

The illegal migrants in question come from third countries - mostly from the Middle East and Africa.

Orban added that Serbia and Hungary "have good relations, the preservation of which is in the interests of both nations," and said the planned fence was "a forced move."

"It's not about the issue of refugees, but about a new process of movement of large masses of people. Hungary will seek to, in cooperation with its neighbors, take adequate measures. We are now in a situation where masses of people come, and countries in Western Europe want to send them back to us, which is why there is pressure on us from the south and from the west," said Orban.

According to him, the wall "does not mean the border with Serbia will be closed - it will only prevent illegal crossings."

"This step does not apply to Serbia and is not directed towards the Serbian people, because we will have new legal border crossings and expand them. I asked Vucic to understand me on this issue, and I told him that he has our guarantees that these measures are not directed towards Serbia, because Hungary is interested in peace," said Orban.

Vucic told reporters that relations between Serbia and Hungary are "the best they have been in recent history," and that "Serbia's priority interest is to preserve stability," announcing at the same time that the two countries "will work together on solving the problem of the increased number of migrants."

He also stated that Serbia is facing a major problem due to the increasing number of migrants and that Hungary's announcement about building the wall was "not pleasant."

He added that he "spoke openly with Orban about the migrant crisis" - and that it is clear that Hungary's move did not come "because of Serbia" but in order to "protect its interests and national territory," while the two countries "have a friendly relationship."

"We'll find a solution in joint action," said Vucic, adding that the two countries will "jointly operate also on (Serbia's) border with Macedonia," and that he believes they will succeed in "protecting the fundamental values."

He said that Serbia will in the coming period act in line with European legislation and continue to cooperate with Hungary, Austria and Germany, adding that Serbia and Hungary "do not want to spoil their good relations that so much has been invested in."

"It's easy to have good relations in good times, while in difficult times it's good to have friends in the neighborhood," said Vucic, thanking at the same time Orban for "the fair relations."

Earlier in the day, Vucic also met with Hungarian President Janos Ader.

Agreements

The governments of Serbia and Hungary signed several agreements in the field of infrastructure, foreign affairs, European integration and education after a joint sitting held on Wednesday.

Prime Ministers Aleksandar Vucic and Viktor Orban signed a statement of purpose on the overall development of infrastructural interconnection between Serbia and Hungary.

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic and his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the two ministries.

Szijjarto and Serbian Minister of EU Integration Jadranka Joksimovic inked modified amendments to the Memorandum of support to Serbia's EU integration.

The program of cooperation in the fields of education, science and culture for 2015-2017 was signed by Serbian Minister of Education, Science and Technological Development Srdjan Verbic and Hungarian Minister of Human Capacities Zoltan Balog.