Erdogan calls on the EU to take more responsibility on the Afghan refugee issue.
Because the topic is also causing tension in his own country.
Istanbul - How many refugees will make it out of Afghanistan in the end, nobody can really reliably predict at this point in time.
However, since the militant Islamist Taliban came to power in Afghanistan, it has been clear that there will be a refugee movement.
Nevertheless, there is still no stable plan for taking in refugees in Europe.
The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan calls on the “European friends” to take on more responsibility.
Erdogan: Demand for open borders while building the wall at the same time
He warns against a policy of isolationism towards refugees and describes the closing of borders as a violation of international law and as a turning away from humanitarian values: "Turkey does not have the task, responsibility or obligation to be the refugee camp of Europe." Indeed, Turkey has has taken in more refugees than any other country in the world. In addition to people from Afghanistan, numerous other migrants also live there, including 3.6 million people from Syria.
Erdogan's statements were preceded by the progressive construction of a border wall with Iran, the Turkish government wants to "completely stop the arrival of migrants".
The issue of further refugee admission is a very sensitive one in Turkey.
The opposition recently called on Erdogan to prevent further migrants from entering the country.
As the dpa reports, there were also attacks on Syrian refugees in the capital Ankara.
G7 summit: Von der Leyen wants to find solutions for Afghanistan refugees
In an interview with the German Press Agency, the President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen reacted to Erdogan's words.
Accordingly, coordinated solutions for vulnerable refugees are to be found at the coming G7 summit: "It is important that all states involved in the Afghanistan mission provide sufficient resettlement quotas and secure routes so that we can take in those in need of protection." Von der Leyen was from 2013 to 2019 as German Defense Minister responsible for the Federal Armed Forces deployment in Afghanistan.
(leb / dpa / AFP)
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