VIENNA, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz on Saturday talked tough on illegal immigration as a precarious refugee situation on the Turkish-Greek border is developing.
"A situation like 2015 must never be repeated. Our goal must be to properly protect the EU's external borders, stop illegal migrants there," Kurz said in a press release.
Austria is ready to support other countries on the external borders with additional police officers, as Minister of the Interior Karl Nehammer already emphasized on Friday, he added.
"We are in constant contact with our partners in the EU (European Union) and along the Western Balkan route. If the protection of the EU's external borders is unsuccessful, Austria will protect its borders," noted the chancellor, a proponent of strict immigration controls.
More than one million refugees and migrants have reached Greece since 2015, mainly coming from Turkish shores, sparking a crisis as countries struggled to cope with the influx, and creating division within the EU over how to resettle these people.
