Russian President Vladimir Putin recently announced that his country would not accept Afghan refugees fleeing Afghanistan, which has recently fallen to the hands of the Taliban, saying he does not want to deal with "militants" disguising themselves as asylum-seekers.
The Eastern European nation's leader also criticized other countries for letting Afghan refugees into their territory. He especially slammed those near his border that have allowed the victims to find their new homes.
Denying Entry of Afghan Refugees
In a statement, Putin said, "Does that mean that they can be sent without visas to those countries, to our neighbors, while they themselves don't want to take them without visas? Why is there such a humiliating approach to solving the problem?"
During his address, Putin said he would not accept militants showing up in his country hiding under the cover of refugees. The incident comes as the United States has negotiated with other countries to temporarily provide shelter to Afghan refugees who were forced to flee their country, the New York Post reported.
Russian officials refused to join international efforts to shelter thousands of Afghan refugees desperate to escape from the clutches of the Taliban. In contrast, they have praised the militant group for allegedly "restoring order" to the war-torn country.
Sergei Lavrov, the foreign minister of Russia, said, "We are seeing the statements the Talibs made about ceasing combat actions, an amnesty for all those involved in the confrontation, about a need for a nationwide dialogue. They are being implemented."
The situation comes amid Russia's continued acceptance of ex-Soviet Central Asian refugees despite not having visas, Yahoo News reported. Putin said he did not want a repeat of the 1990s to the mid-2000s where hostilities were born in the North Caucasus.
Chaotic Situation in Kabul
The airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, has become the epicenter of a desperate and deadly scramble to flee the cruelty of the Taliban. More than 20,000 people in and around the facility have been trying to board flights. Recently, another seven residents were killed, being crushed, in one of the largest airlifts in history.
The refugees include international workers, Afghan interpreters, and women, who now face uncertainty under the rule of the militant group. As of Sunday morning, the number of residents waiting to be lifted out of the airport has risen to 18,500, with another 2,000 waiting behind the gates, eager to get in.
Panic ensued after authorities decided to issue electronic visas to Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants, without names or document numbers. These were later copied and sent as screenshots to thousands of other Afghans who were not yet eligible to gain access to the airport.
The gates that provided entry to the airport were partly closed on Sunday and there were reports of families being separated from each other during the chaotic situation. "Don't know what they were doing but there is still local staff struggling at the gates and not even being able to get in," a source close to the situation said during an interview, CNN reported.
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