Migration situation ‘very serious’ at southern border

The defence minister called the situation posed by migration at Hungary’s southern border “very serious” after inspecting an army base at Kelebia on Sunday.

The number of migrants seeking to illegally cross to the territory of Hungary, an EU country, has doubled this year, Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky said on Facebook.

“I visited the base at Kelebia to learn first-hand about the situation and thank our troops for their service,” the minister said.

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Szalay-Bobrovniczky called security a fundamental national interest which he said can be guaranteed by the Hungarian armed forces.

“Hungarian people can count of them under any circumstances,”

he said.

Reiterating the government’s position, the minister said that problems posed by migration must be tackled where they arise. For this reason, the Hungarian armed forces will continue to participate in NATO missions, he said.