During a press conference with Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, he confirmed that at Tuesday’s meeting of EU interior ministers, Germany was of the opinion that “As many people as possible should be provided with access to humanitarian care close to home.”
Merkel stressed that it is not possible to negotiate the admission of refugees into pre-determined groups and quotas until it becomes clear what international asylum processes have begun as a result of the Taliban’s control.
All the support that can be given to the countries of the Afghanistan region for humanitarian aid is “good and important.” However it According to UNHCR, at the moment, not only cross-border but internal migration is a “big problem”.Angela Merkel added.
In this regard, he stressed that the operation of Kabul International Airport is “vital” to deliver health and humanitarian shipments to Afghanistan.
And the German chancellor said that these days Negotiations took place With the governments of several European countries, including Britain, France, the Netherlands and Italy, on this matter How to jointly establish a “transitional or stronger” representation in Kabul with the aim of maintaining a lasting relationship with the Taliban leadership.
Angela Merkel stressed that this does not mean diplomatic recognition, but rather the strengthening of communication channels.
He also said that his government’s primary focus was on resolving the situation of local helpers and their families in the Bundeswehr, relief organizations and other German organizations. At the moment, the size of the group is also uncertain, between 10 and 40 thousand people, and it is not known how many want to leave their homeland.
Sebastian Kurz stated that the position of his government is known and has not changed Austria continues to refuse to accept more Afghan refugees. He added that the Austrian government also considers it more important to provide support to refugees as close as possible to their home country.
Cover image source: Steffen Kugler / Bundesregierung via Getty Images
