Turkey Has No Obligations to Give Shelter to Afghan Refugees Says Turkish President

Turkey is ready if needed to hold talks with representatives of the Taliban movement when they form the government, President Tayyip Erdogan told a news conference in Ankara on Thursday.

"Since our aim is to ensure stability and security in Afghanistan - TASS, we will, if necessary, discuss our common agenda with that government that the Taliban will form," Erdogan said.

The president also noted that Turkey had no commitments to anyone to harbor Afghan refugees.

On August 15, fighters from the Taliban radical militant group entered Kabul without any resistance and established full control over the Afghan capital within a matter of hours.

President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani announced that he had stepped down to avoid bloodshed and fled the country.

In this situation, Afghanistan's Vice President Amrullah Saleh declared himself as the country's caretaker president, calling on the army to resist the Taliban. Western countries are evacuating their nationals and embassy staff./tass