Merkel: Closing Balkan migrant route ‘does not solve the problem’

German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Thursday that closing the route used by migrants through the western Balkans “does not resolve the problem” and that this move is “not sustainable”.

“You don't resolve the problem by taking a unilateral decision,” Merkel told public radio MDR, after western Balkan countries barred entry to transiting migrants from midnight Wednesday. “If we do not manage to reach a deal with Turkey, then Greece cannot bear the weight (of migrants) for long”.

[AFP]