Oekraïne wil geen buffer zijn tussen Tsjetsjeense vluchtelingen en de EU (en)

Ukraine has no plans to set up transit camps to receive Chechen refugees, the State Committee for Nationalities and Migration has said.

Lithuania's Interior minister, Virgilijus Bulovas, had recently proposed Ukraine as the most obvious country to place a reception camp for Chechen refugees.

The idea, however, was flatly rejected by the Kiev authorities - the chairman of Ukraine's State Committee for Nationalities and Migration, Hennadii Moskal went on to describe the idea as "absurd".

In a statement to journalists, he added that his government "has not and could not receive an official appeal on that matter".

"No country has the right to dictate or propose to another country where and which places to build and who to receive there", Mr Moskal said in response to questions from Ukrainian News.

Mr Moskal also said he did not understand why the initiators of the idea selected Ukraine and not their own countries.

A mixed reception

Ministers from the Austro-Baltic Security Summit who met last week in Vienna - including those from Austria, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - backed the idea of building transit camps for potential immigrants coming into Europe from outside the bloc's borders.

Similar proposals have been put forward by the British and recently revived by German interior minister Otto Schily. The notion was also backed by the incoming Commissioner for justice and home affairs, Italian right-winger Rocco Buttiglione.

The growing problem of Chechen refugees seeking shelter in the EU was also raised on Friday (17 September) at a meeting in Warsaw.

Speaking at a visit to Poland Ruud Lubbers, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) rejected ideas from some EU states of creating a refugee camp outside the bloc's borders.

"Chechen people have the right to knock on Europe's door. When they knock we should not push them away", he said according to Reuters.

Poland has received about 3,500 asylum requests from Chechens this year, with 300 in September.

Polish Interior Minister Ryszard Kalisz said to Reuters, that the country could handle the increase.

"The issue is not to get rid of the problem but to respect human rights", Mr Kalisz said.