Hungarian foreign minister rejects Swedish minister’s criticism

Budapest, August 12 (MTI) – Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has rejected remarks by Sweden’s migration minister criticising Hungary for refusing to take back asylum seekers from Sweden who first registered in Hungary.

Morgan Johansson told press agency TT that Sweden will summon Hungary’s ambassador to Stockholm next week over her country’s refusal to take back migrants from Sweden.

Szijjártó called Johansson’s criticism strange and unacceptable. He said Hungary’s stance on taking back illegal migrants remains unchanged. “We will only take back those who first entered the European Union through Hungary,” Szijjártó insisted.

The minister said Hungary will not take back any of the “hundreds of thousands” of “Middle Eastern illegal migrants” who had passed through at least another EU country before entering Hungary.

Hungary is among the few EU countries that have observed the bloc’s rules since the start of the migration crisis, Szijjártó insisted.

“We protect our border which is also the external border of the European Union, meaning that right now Hungary is also protecting Sweden,” he added.

Source: MTI