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Austria, Germany to Allow Migrants and Refugees Into Countries: Austrian Chancellor

The decision comes after hundreds of people decided to stop waiting for permission to get on trains and set off for Austria on foot.
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Austria and Germany will allow migrants and refugees stranded in Hungary into the two countries, Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann said in a statement early Saturday.

"Because of today's emergency situation on the Hungarian border, Austria and Germany agree in this case to a continuation of the refugees' journey into their countries," Faymann said in a Facebook post, Reuters reported.

Image: A woman and her children sit as they have boarded a bus provided by Hungarian authorities
A woman and her children sit as they have boarded a bus provided by Hungarian authorities for migrants and refugees at Keleti train station in Budapest, Hungary, on Saturday.Marko Drobnjakovic / AP

Faymann announced the decision after speaking with Angela Merkel, his German counterpart.

Migrants stranded for days in Hungary were boarding buses Saturday chartered by the government to take them to the border with Austria.

Earlier, Hungary said it would send a fleet of buses to the main Keleti train station in Budapest and to the M1 highway heading to Vienna after hundreds of migrants and refugees decided to stop waiting for permission to get on trains and set off for Austria on foot.

In striking scenes, over 1,200 people walked all day and into the night along the highway Friday, sometimes disrupting traffic with their vast numbers.

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At a train station in the northern town of Bicske, several hundred other migrants and refugees refused police demands to go to a camp, broke through a police cordon and took off for the Austrian border.

Janos Lazar, chief of staff for Prime Minister Viktor Orban, said "this is a opportunity. The immigrants have to decide whether they want to take advantage of it. We are taking this step so Hungary's transportation is not paralyzed during the next 24 hours."

He said the buses will take the migrants and refugees to the main Hegyeshalom crossing with Austria. It's not clear, however, if the migrants and refugees will trust authorities and get on the buses. They were tricked earlier this week to get on a train that did not go to Austria.

PHOTOS: Tired of Waiting, Migrants and Refugees Set Off on 300-Mile Trek

Faymann's statement says Hungary is expected to abide by European Union agreements relevant to those seeking asylum. Asylum requests usually have to be dealt with by the first EU country reached.

Faymann also says he expects Hungary to accept any future EU rules mandating country quotas for asylum seekers.