Uzbekistan wants to support the departure of Germans, local staff and those in need of protection from Afghanistan. Uzbekistan is ready to help with this group of people, said Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) in the Uzbek capital Tashkent on Monday. The federal government is concerned with the transit of people who are to be flown to Germany. "Beyond that, we have not made a request," said with a view to the debate about the admission of all Afghan refugees in the neighboring states. Uzbekistan is currently rejecting many refugees from Afghanistan at the border.
Maas described it as a very difficult task to get people overland from Afghanistan in the second evacuation phase after the end of the military flights.
For one thing, you need guarantees from the Taliban.
On the other hand, one must avoid naming public collection points, as in Kabul.
There were then tens of thousands waiting there who did not belong to the group that wanted to evacuate Germany.
Maas: All neighboring countries at one table
According to him, the neighboring states of Afghanistan want to coordinate their Afghanistan policy.
"There are efforts to get all of the neighboring countries around the table," said Maas before the onward flight to Tajikistan.
All major players, including Russia and China, should be there.
In this context, he referred to the ongoing talks on a UN Security Council resolution on Afghanistan.
There it will show whether there is a willingness to cooperate in Moscow and Beijing.
China and Russia, along with the United States, France and Great Britain, are among the five permanent members of the Security Council, which is the most important body of the United Nations.
Unlike the western states, the two countries are still represented with embassies in Kabul after the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan. According to Maas, an Afghanistan conference of the neighboring countries is also planned. In addition to Uzbekistan, this also includes Tajikistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Iran and China.