Serbia offers to help patrol Bulgaria-Turkey border

BELGRADE, Serbia – 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 made the offer Sunday 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 an interior ministry statement. 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.