Turkey won't accept EU's 'pay to keep refugees away' approach, says foreign minister

Photo: AA

The refugee deal between Turkey and the European Union (EU) needs to be updated, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has said.

"With regards to the Afghans, there will be no cooperation if there is an understanding like 'We are paying you so you keep refugees'," Çavuşoğlu said today (September 2) at a joint press conference with his counterpart from the Netherlands, Sigrid Kaag, in Ankara.

According to the deal that has been in place since 2016, Turkey keeps Syrian refugees from heading to European countries in exchange for financial support from the EU.

Some European countries, including Belgium and Austria, have suggested this deal be extended to include Afghan refugees as well.

However, Çavuşoğlu said, Ankara wouldn't accept that. Moreover, the existing deal needs to be updated to include sending Afghans and Syrians back to their countries "voluntarily and safely," he noted.

"This problem is getting bigger and bigger. It also creates problems. If it's a problem for the EU, it's a problem for Turkey as well," Çavuşoğlu remarked.

Responding to a question, Çavuşoğlu said Turkey will not host Afghans who will be evacuated by other countries. Previously, the ministry denied reports that the UK and the US were going to set up "refugee procession hubs" in Turkey.

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Kabul airport

As for the situation in the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan's capital city of Kabul, Çavuşoğlu said, "There are requests from the Taliban and other countries for cooperation. We are evaluating them."

"The most important thing here is the security of the airport. We have conveyed our opinion about this to the Taliban," he said. "They have said that they will ensure the security inside and outside [of the airport]. However, this should be done in a way that gives confidence to the international community."

Turkey had been running and protecting the airport for six years as part of a NATO mission and had been in talks with both the US and the Taliban to continue to do that after the withdrawal of the US-led forces from the country.

The plan could not be fulfilled as the Taliban refused Turkey's request to keep its soldiers in the country. Turkey completed the evacuation of its troops from Afghanistan on August 27.

Minister Çavuşoğlu suggested that private security companies can be used to protect the airport. "There doesn't need to be military or police forces. There are companies specialized in this," he said. (VK)