The global community cannot afford to abandon the Afghan people because ensuring stability in the country is critical for all countries, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday, Trend reports citing Daily Sabah.
Erdogan on Tuesday proposed the creation of a working group on Afghanistan under the G-20, noting that Turkey is ready to lead the working group.
"Ensuring security and stability in Afghanistan as soon as possible is of critical importance not only at the regional but also at the international level," Erdogan said, speaking at the G-20 extraordinary meeting on Afghanistan, joining via videoconference from Vahdettin Mansion in Istanbul.
He underlined that regardless of the political process, there is a need to show strong solidarity with the Afghan people due to the deepening humanitarian crisis in the country.
"The international community does not have the luxury of turning its back on the Afghan people and leaving this country to its own fate," he added.
Erdogan stressed that Turkey will continue to fulfill its "duty of brotherhood" for the Afghan people in these difficult days.
The president also said the international community should keep the channels of dialogue with the Taliban open in order to “patiently and gradually steer” it toward establishing a more inclusive administration, adding: "We have not seen necessary inclusiveness from them on the issue of humanitarian assistance, security and prevention of Afghanistan being a base of terror organizations and prevention of extremism."
He repeated that Turkey, which already hosts more than 3.6 million Syrians, cannot shoulder the burden of an influx of migrants from Afghanistan, warning that European nations would also be affected by a new wave of migrants.
“It is inevitable that European countries will also be affected by the migration pressure that Turkey will be exposed to on its southern and eastern borders,” he said.