ZAGREB, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Facing criticism from Slovenia, Croatian Interior Minister Ranko Ostojic said on Monday that Croatia had no other option than to deport refugees to the nearest border of EU's Schengen passport-free zone, the border with Slovenia.
Ostojic said Croatia was not the one to blame, that "the finger should be pointed" at Greece, which was in the Schengen zone and letting in refugees without registering them.
Earlier on Monday, Slovenian Interior Minister Vesna Gyorkos Znidar accused Croatia of not respecting the agreement on the number of refugees it could transport to the border with Slovenia. According to her, Slovenia could not agree to an unlimited number of refugees.
Meanwhile, Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic said he was in contact with his Slovenian counterpart, Miro Cerar, saying Slovenia was organized and well-adapted to the new situation.
He said Croatia would continue to let the refugees pass through the country and would not build a fence.
However, Croatian President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic said at an interview with U.S. CNBC television that she did not exclude the possibility of constructing a fence on the Croatian border to keep the migrants out.
Between Sunday midnight and Monday at 3 p.m. local time (2200 GMT and 1300 GMT), 1,079 refugees entered Croatia from Serbia, bringing the total to 198,259 since Sept. 16. Currently, 2,071 are being accommodated at the reception center in Opatovac, near the border with Serbia.
