(AP) The European Union should assist Afghans in Afghanistan and in neighboring countries to avoid a new migration wave, Turkey’s president told Greece’s prime minister in a telephone call Friday.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Greece’s Kyriakos Mitsotakis discussed developments in Afghanistan in a rare call, as both countries worry over a potential influx of refugees fleeing the Taliban.
Erdogan’s office said he told Mitsotakis that “a new wave of migration will become inevitable if necessary measures are not taken” to help Afghanistan and neighboring countries, such as Iran, where Afghan migrants would head before trying to reach Turkey and Europe.
Erdogan also said that Turkey, which has reinforced its border with Iran, was discussing the issue of Afghan migrants with Tehran, according to a statement from his office. There’s been an increase in recent weeks in Afghans entering Turkey from Iran.
