Turkey expressed, on Tuesday, its strong rejection of making its territory a center for the implementation of the United States program for the transfer of Afghan refugees to its territory through third countries.
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Tango Bilgic said, "We do not accept the irresponsible decision taken by the United States of America without consulting our country. If Washington wants to transfer these refugees to its territory, it can be done directly by planes."
Washington recently announced a program to protect Afghans who worked with US forces, and the program requires granting these Afghans and their families asylum in the United States.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the administration of President Joe Biden would grant refugee status to new categories of Afghans who have helped the United States in Afghanistan, including those who worked for the media and NGOs.
Meanwhile, major US media organizations have lobbied to help journalists and other individuals who may be at risk because of their work.
Security Check
The State Department said the measure aims to protect Afghans who could be at risk because of their association with the United States, but who do not qualify for a special immigration program to obtain visas to resettle thousands of Afghans and their family members in the United States.
Blinken acknowledged that entry to the United States "will not be easy for affected Afghans, who must reach a third country before they can apply for refugee status to the United States."
He pointed out that the process may last for more than a year, due to the backlog of work and strict security scrutiny, and said, "This is very difficult on many levels."
The US State Department said it had consulted with Turkey about Afghans going to a third country to apply for asylum.
big immigration crisis
But the Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman said that "what the United States announced will lead to a major migration crisis in our region."
He considered that this step will increase the suffering of Afghans in the migration paths, "and it is unacceptable to search for a solution for this through our country without our consent, and it was first to find that solution through consultation among the countries of the region."
He indicated that Turkey has hosted the largest number of refugees in the world over the past seven years, stressing that they do not have the ability to withstand a new migration crisis on behalf of a third country.
He stressed that his country "can not in any way assume the international responsibilities of any third countries, and we will not allow our laws to be misused for the purposes of those countries. No one should expect the Turkish nation to bear the burden of the migration crises that our region witnessed as a result of the decisions of these countries." itself".
It is noteworthy that the conflict in Afghanistan has intensified, since the beginning of last May, with the expansion of the Taliban movement's influence, coinciding with the start of the last stage of the withdrawal of US forces, which is scheduled to be completed by August 31.