Steffen Seibert, the spokesman of the German government, rejected on Monday attempts made by several media urging Berlin to criticize Macedonia about the incident in which Macedonian border forces had prevented refugees from the makeshift camp in Idomeni from illegally entering the country.
According to the spokesman, every country must control its borders in line with international standards. Asked whether Germany would condemn the use of rubber bullets and tear gas against the refugees, Seibert said the option of trying to cross the border was not ‘a hopeful one’.
Berlin, he said, is concerned about the difficult living conditions in the provisional camp Idomeni and the events of the past 24 to 48 hours on the Greece-Macedonia border.
Germany is the country the vast majority of refugees want to reach. Tens of thousands of refugees stuck in Greece are still hoping to make it to the EU through Macedonia.