ANKARA — Turkey cannot bail out the EU by taking in
Afghans who worked for Western countries in Afghanistan as the Taliban take
power there, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday.
اضافة اعلان
"We have received a request to welcome local employees
of a European Union mission in Afghanistan," a government statement quoted
Erdogan as saying to European Council President Charles Michel in a telephone
call.
"The member states do not open their doors even to a
tiny portion of the people who served them and who are in difficulty," the
statement quoted him as saying.
"You cannot expect Turkey to take on the responsibility
of third countries," he said.
The head of state reiterated, the day after similar remarks
during a conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, that Turkey was
already hosting around 5 million
refugees and "cannot support an
additional migratory burden".
Michel for his part confirmed on Twitter that he had
discussed the unfolding situation in Afghanistan with Erdogan, describing it as
a "common challenge for Turkey and the EU".
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday
urged all countries, especially European countries, to take in some Afghan
refugees.
Erdogan had on Saturday noted that the EU has yet to honor a
2016 accord aimed at halting the flow of migrants to Europe.
He said it was "unrealistic" for the EU to expect
Turkey to take on more migrants as long as the 2016 accord has not been fully
implemented.
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