Turkey says it lacks capacity to handle new refugee influx

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s president has told his German counterpart in a telephone call that Turkey does not have the capacity to deal with a possible new refugee wave from Afghanistan. According to a statement from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s office, the Turkish leader also told German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier Tuesday that Germany and other EU nations should provide assistance to Afghanistan’s neighbors to help them as “they bear the burden of the Afghan migration.” Turkey, which already hosts the world’s largest refugee population, is concerned about a potential influx of refugees fleeing the Taliban. Anti-migrant sentiment has been running high in Turkey as it grapples with economic woes, including high unemployment, that have been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.