Serbia offers to help patrol Turkish-Bulgarian border

Serbia has offered to help patrol the border between Bulgaria and Turkey to curb the influx of migrants seeking to reach the European Union through the Balkans.

Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic makes the offer in a meeting with Bulgarian counterpart Rumyana Bachvarova at the border between the two neighboring states.

Stefanovic says the idea is to ease the pressure on the Serbian border and to “show our neighbors that they can rely on us,” according to a statement by the interior ministry. He says Serbian authorities have discussed the issue with EU leaders.

Serbia has recently deployed joint army and police patrol on its border with Bulgaria, where migrants have been coming in through illegal routes, mostly guided by people-smugglers.

Balkan nations closed their borders to migrants in March.

— AP