Hungary’s foreign minister dismissed criticism of the country’s razor wire border fences at the United Nations in New York on Tuesday, pointing to other nations that use walls to curb illegal immigration.
"Critics of Hungary are unfair and unjust," Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said. "We're not doing it for fun. It's not the first fence built and if we're going to be criticised then others should also be criticised," he said, pointing to the US southern border fence with Mexico or Greece's border with Turkey.
Szijjarto said that the 3.5-metre-high fence was designed to protect the open-border European Union Schengen zone, arguing that as a peripheral state of the 26-nation area, Hungary needs to protect its border with non-Schengen countries.
He also called for the United Nations to set global quotas on accepting migrants, saying it was unfair for Europe to take so many refugees fleeing Syria.
"We suggest that all major players should bear some burden. We should introduce some world quotas," Szijjarto told reporters.
Pressed for details on this proposition, Szijjarto said only that secure borders remained Hungary’s priority.
“Until we get control of our borders, it doesn’t make sense to talk about numbers,” he said.Read more:
http://www.france24.com/en/20150930-hungary-defends-border-fence-proposes-world-quotas-refugees-migrantsBolding mine.
