Serbia cannot pay price for lack of EU refugee policy: FM

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina

Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic stated that Serbia could not pay the price for the lack of a common EU policy to address the refugee crisis.

Speaking at a press conference in the Serbian capital Belgrade, Dacic was responding to the question: "What would Serbia do if Hungary begins to send back the refugees?".

"We look negatively at all of these moves, because you cannot put the migrant crisis problem on Serbia, Macedonia or another country of the Western Balkans," he said.

The flow of thousands of migrants through Greece, Macedonia, Serbia and on to EU member Hungary has created a huge humanitarian problem in southeast Europe.

On June 17, Hungary began erecting a barbed wire fence to stop the flow of migrants into the country, which some observers say could lead to a change in the migration path through the Balkans.

"Serbia will not join in on anti-immigration policies, but however is not capable of bearing the whole problem, with the technical capacity and the financial problems we have. So far we have shown a very high level of organization, political tolerance and inter-ethnic tolerance and tolerance for refugees and it will continue to be the policy of the government of Serbia," said Dacic.

Dacic also told on Sunday that a total of 120,000 people had been recorded crossing illegally into Serbia but only 500 of them actually filed asylum applications.

Europe is facing the biggest refugee crisis in decades, with thousands of asylum seekers from Middle Eastern and African countries trying to reach western Europe.