Kurz thanks Serbia for helping reduce migrant wave

VIENNA - Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz on Friday thanked Serbia for its contribution to a reduction of the migrant wave through the closure of the Balkan route.

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Following a meeting with a Serbian delegation headed by Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, Kurz said Serbia was maintaining excellent cooperation with Austria in dealing with the refugee crisis.

At the same time, Austria is faced with an increased migrant flow via Italy and measures must be taken to reduce it, he said.

The issue of migrants was one of the key topics in the discussions, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said after the meeting.

He also said Austria was a major economic partner for Serbia and that the volume of bilateral trade was at 800 mln euros in 2015, but that 1 bln euros was a common objective.

We expect further Austrian support in terms of our European integration and opening new chapters in the EU accession talks, he said.

We expect and hope that Austria will contribute to a calming of tensions in the region - Serbia will play a constructive role and be a factor of regional stability, as that is our common interest, Dacic said.

(Telegraf.co.uk / Tanjug)