Austria and Serbia vow to stop Afghan refugees entering Europe

Austria and Serbia vow to stop Afghan refugees entering Europe
Copyright RTS / Eurovision
Copyright RTS / Eurovision
By Daniel Bellamy with AP
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Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said that Afghanistan's neighbouring countries should accept refugees instead.

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The leaders of Austria and Serbia have met to discuss stopping Afghan refugees from entering Europe.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said that Afghanistan's neighbours should accept the refugees instead.

He added that "this is why we are in contact with countries in the region."

Kurz has long taken a tough approach to migration issues. He recently said that Austria wouldn't accept any migrants from Afghanistan because it had taken in a "disproportionately high" number since 2015, when one million people entered Europe from the Middle East, Africa or Asia.

He was speaking during a visit to Belgrade where he met Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic.

Vucic said Serbia had received a request to accommodate 150 women and girls from a football club, and that his government would allow it.

Thousands of migrants from the Middle East, Africa and Asia have been stranded in Serbia and neighbouring countries that lie on the so-called Balkan migration route toward Western Europe.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appealed to the international community to help Afghanistan after the Taliban took over the country.

In a tweet, he warned it faces a "looming humanitarian catastrophe."

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