ANKARA
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Thursday that no promise was made to grant visas and residence permits to Afghan migrants.
Fidan’s comments came in response to a parliamentary question by Deniz Demir, Ankara deputy of Türkiye’s main opposition, the Republican People’s Party (CHP).
The question concerned allegations that “legalization of Afghan migrants and work visas for Afghans” were discussed during a meeting between the Taliban’s Refugee Minister Khalil-ur-Rahman Haqqani and Cenk Unal, Chargé d’Affaires and Head of Mission of the Turkish Embassy in Kabul.
The foreign minister said it was a regular meeting between Unal and members of the Taliban-led interim administration.
“The issues of combating irregular migration originating from Afghanistan and, in this context, the return of irregular Afghan migrants in our country were discussed during the meeting,” he said.
Fidan underlined that Turkish missions and embassies are not in the practice of announcing meetings with the country’s authorities.
