Belgrade to Appeal to Int’l Courts if Croatia Closes Border With Serbia

Serbia will seek protection at international courts in case Croatia closes the border between the two countries, Serbian Minister of Labor Aleksandar Vulin said, as cited by the local media.

BELGRADE (Sputnik) – On Thursday, Croatian authorities stated that they could close the border with Serbia, if once again several thousands of migrants arrive in Croatia from the Serbian territory in one day.

"We want to warn Croatia and any other country that the closure of international roads is unacceptable and that we will request the protection of our economic and other interests in international courts," Vulin said, as cited by the Tanjug news outlet Thursday.

The minister added that if Croatia is unable to take care of just about 6,000 people, it should not be a cause of threat to its neighbors, or a reason to deprive refugees of basic human rights.

According to Croatian authorities, in the last two days the country saw an influx of about 7,000 refugees and migrants and began to experience problems with their supervision, accommodation and transport to transit centers or to the borders of the neighboring countries. The refugees, mostly from the Middle East and North Africa, aim to use Croatia as a transit country on their way to reach the wealthier states of the Western Europe.