Macedonia calls on Greece to move migrants away from border
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Version 0 of 1. SKOPJE, Macedonia — Macedonia’s foreign minister is calling on neighboring Greece to move thousands of migrants stuck on its side of the border away to more suitable reception centers. Nikola Poposki told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday that this would offer stranded migrants “humane and safe treatment,” instead of having them in tents a few hundred meters (yards) from the border. “This is really not a solution,” Poposki said of the tent city. “If you really care about these people they should be hosted in reception centers that can host such a large number of people.” At least 10,000 Syrian and Iraqi refugees have been waiting for days at the Idomeni crossing on Greece’s border with Macedonia, in an official shelter and in tents that they pitched in fields. Due to similar restrictions further north on the migration route, Macedonia is only letting in a trickle. Greek police say 130 people crossed the border from 6 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursday. Poposki urged closer cooperation with Greece “to avoid any kind of dramatic evolution on the ground.” He also warned that it is “very much unavoidable” that countries further north on the migrant route to central Europe will adopt stricter restrictions — which would inevitably affect the number of refugees Macedonia accepts. “We are waiting (to learn) the numbers of migrants that can be received in destination countries ... and this is going to determine the daily quotas of migrants allowed to enter Macedonian territory,” Poposki added. Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |