Erdogan says Turkey won’t be Europe’s ‘migrant storage unit’

(File photo) President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

• Greece on alert to avoid repeat of 2015 migrant crisis • Putin, Draghi, and Macron discuss Afghanistan • Taliban takeover biggest event since Crimea: EU’s Borrell President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged European countries to take responsibility for migrants coming from Afghanistan, adding that Turkey had no intention of becoming “Europe’s migrant storage unit” amid turmoil in the country after the Taliban’s takeover. Since the Taliban entered Kabul over the weekend, scenes of chaos have unfolded as thousands seek to leave, fearing a return to the austere interpretation of Islamic law imposed during the previous Taliban rule that ended 20 years ago. Thousands had also crossed into Turkey in recent weeks, as the religious insurgents swept through the country en route to Kabul. Speaking after a cabinet meeting, Erdogan said Europe needed to take responsibility for Afghans fleeing the country, adding that Ankara had taken measures along its borders with Iran – a key route for Afghan migrants into Turkey. He also said that Turkey could engage in talks with the new government to be formed by the Taliban to discuss “our common agendas”. Greece’s border forces are meanwhile on alert to avoid a repeat of the mass arrivals of migrants that the country experienced in 2015, the government’s spokesman said yesterday, following the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan. Greece was on the frontline of Europe’s migration crisis in 2015, when nearly 1mnn people fleeing conflicts in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan landed on its islands. Like other European Union member states, Greece is nervous that developments in Afghanistan could trigger a replay of that crisis and has sought a common EU stance on the issue. “All forces are on alert at the borders, we will not allow a reliving of the scenes of 2015,” government spokesman Yannis Economou told reporters. Greece’s foreign ministry is co-ordinating actions to bring back eight Afghan nationals who worked with its forces there, it added. “We will not stop until we bring them back to our country,” Economou said. Russian President Vladimir Putin, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, and French President Emmanuel Macron meanwhile discussed Afghanistan in separate phone calls yesterday, highlighting the importance of addressing humanitarian issues in the country. The discussions came as G7 foreign ministers called for the international community to unite in its response to the Afghan crisis to prevent it from escalating further. Putin and Draghi both spoke in favour of consolidating international efforts, including through the G20 bloc, in order to foster peace and stability in Afghanistan, the Kremlin said in a statement. Italy holds the rotating presidency of the Group of 20 and is considering calling a special summit to address the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, a diplomatic source in Rome said. In a statement from Rome, Draghi’s office said he and Putin had had a “substantial discussion” about the situation in Afghanistan and on its regional implications. They also looked at the guidelines the international community might follow “to restore Afghanistan’s stability, fight terrorism and illegal trafficking and protect women’s rights”, the Italian statement said. In a separate statement, Draghi’s office said the Italian leader had also spoken yesterday with French President Emmanuel Macron. “During the call the two leaders discussed the different implications of the Afghan crisis, including the management of the migration flows and the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the country,” the statement said. Putin also spoke to Macron yesterday, discussing Afghanistan under the Taliban’s rule and the importance of ensuring the safety of civilians, the Kremlin said. The EU’s foreign policy chief has meanwhile said that the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan is the most important geopolitical event since Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea in 2014. Josep Borrell told the European Parliament that major worries included a possible surge in refugees and increasing complexity in Central Asia – with Turkey, China and Russia all vying to increase their influence in the region. He reiterated that the EU is being forced to “establish channels of communication” with the Taliban to ensure the evacuation of its nationals and Afghan staff and their families. “Yes, we have to talk with the Taliban but that doesn’t mean recognition,” he said. Borrell said the collapse of the Western-backed regime in Afghanistan was “the most important geopolitical event since the Crimea annexation by Russia” in 2014. The 27-nation EU will now have to extend a “diplomatic reach-out” to Iran, Pakistan and India to manage the fallout, Borrell said. “Current developments are going to have a wide-ranging impact on regional international security,” he said, adding that Brussels planned to work with the US and other allies to develop “a common approach”. Borrell’s comments to the European Parliament’s foreign affairs and development committees were made a day before an emergency videolink meeting of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) foreign ministers to discuss Afghanistan and the consequences. Most of Nato’s 30 member states are EU countries.