Turkey cannot take new refugee burden, foreign minister says
FILE PHOTO: Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu arrives to attend the G20 meeting of foreign and development ministers in Matera, Italy, June 29, 2021. REUTERS/Yara Nardi
August 29, 2021
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey cannot take the burden of a new migrant wave from Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Sunday after talks with his German counterpart.
“As Turkey, we have sufficiently carried out our moral and humanitarian responsibilities regarding migration,” Cavusoglu said, speaking in a joint news conference with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. “It is out of the question for us to take an additional refugee burden,” Cavusoglu said.
Turkey currently hosts 3.7 million Syrian refugees as part of a 2016 deal with the European Union.
(Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
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