Austria's conservative Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Tuesday that his country will not accept any of almost 450 rescued migrants who recently landed in Sicily after a standoff between Italy and Malta.
"Austria won't take part in any further redistribution of asylum-seekers," Kurz wrote in a letter quoted by Austrian daily Die Presse.
Austria has accepted over 150,000 asylum requests since 2015, Kurz underlined.
"The country has shown one of highest levels of solidarity in the European Union compared to its population while many other states have so far taken in very very few asylum-seekers," Die Presse cited Kurz's letter as saying.
The 447 migrants were rescued between Malta and Italy last week but were stranded at sea for days as each of the two countries insisted the other should take the migrants, prompting Italy's premier Giuseppe Conte to write to the EU asking member states to each accept some.
France and Malta said on Saturday they would take 50 each, with Germany, Spain and Portugal making a similar pledge on Sunday, while Ireland has since said it will take 20.
The migrants told officials who interviewed them at Sicily's port of Pozzallo that four Somali travelling companions - including a 17-year-old boy - died last Friday when they jumped into the sea and tried to swim towards two vessels from the EU border and coastguard mission.
