Turkish defense chief shoots down false claims of Afghan refugee hub

ANKARA

Turkey's defense chief on Monday denied false UK media reports that Turkey would set up an asylum processing center for Afghan refugees, saying that no such thing has been discussed, nor was it even possible.

“The British defense secretary did not talk about either Turkey or Pakistan. Such a thing was not discussed in the article penned by him, nor is it possible,” National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar told Anadolu Agency following the meeting, citing a guest op-ed by Ben Wallace, the British defense secretary, which indeed made no mention of either Turkey or Pakistan.

After the piece’s publication in the UK Mail on Sunday, some media outlets baselessly reported that Wallace had mentioned possible centers in Turkey and Pakistan.

BBC Turkish – among the outlets that misreported the supposed plans for bases – later issued a correction and apology for its false reporting.

"The news in the UK press saying there are plans to establish an asylum processing center for Afghan asylum-seekers in Turkey does not reflect the truth," Turkey's Foreign Ministry also said in a written statement on Sunday.

Akar’s remarks followed a videoconference meeting with Turkey’s chief of General Staff and the commanders of the air, land and naval forces. The commander of the Turkish Task Force in Afghanistan – whose role in keeping the peace at the airport in the Afghan capital Kabul has been praised – and Turkey's Ambassador to Kabul Cihad Erginay were also in attendance.

During the meeting, Akar was briefed about Turkey’s recent activities at Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport and the latest situation in the country amid the withdrawal of US and NATO troops.

As the Taliban’s recent rapid takeover of Afghanistan spurred a refugee exodus, Turkish officials have stressed that Turkey – which hosts more refugees than any other country in the world – cannot and will not accept a new wave of Afghan refugees.

Turkey already hosts some 3.6 million Syrian refugees from the Syrian civil war, far more than any other nation.

* Writing by Zehra Nur Duz