Turkey proposes G20 working group for Afghanistan

ANKARA

Turkey has proposed the establishment of a special working group at the G20 to address the Afghanistan-related issues and warned the international community that Afghan people cannot be left to their fate.

“I am proposing the establishment of a working group at the G20 in order to bring about a systematic solution to this problem. As Turkey, we aspire to the leadership of this group,” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said at the extraordinary meeting of the G20 leaders via videoconference on Oct. 12.

The meeting was held by the Italian term presidency of the G20 weeks before the face-to-face summit to be held in Rome.

The security and stability of Afghanistan are critically important not only for the region but the entire globe, Erdoğan stated, urging the international community to address all the problems stemming from the uncertainty in this country, including growing humanitarian needs.

“The international community has no luxury in turning its back to the Afghan people and leaving them to their fate,” he said, saying that a new political and geopolitical reality has surfaced after the Taliban’s takeover of the central Asian country.

The developments in Afghanistan risk a new refugee influx, Erdoğan said, underlining that Turkey, which is already hosting more than 5 million refugees, cannot host more migrants from Afghanistan.

“It should be known that it is inevitable that European countries will also be affected by the immigration pressure that Turkey will be exposed to from its southern and eastern borders,” the Turkish president stressed.

As seen on Sept. 26 terror attack that killed nearly 200 people in Kabul, the terrorism threat is still ongoing in Afghanistan, Erdoğan stated, calling on the Taliban to form an inclusive government.

“As the prime minister of Italy has underlined the Taliban did not start well. We should all try to direct the Taliban to form an inclusive government,” he stated.