Putin's no to Afghans' refugees

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday criticised the United States and the NATO allies for sending refugees from Afghanistan to central Asian countries, and said they pose a direct threat to Moscow.Calling the visa-free refuge of Afghan migrants in Asia "unfair", Putin said he would bring up the issue at the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) summit. On Saturday, Putin held a virtual meeting with his Kazakh counterpart Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev where the two leaders discussed the evolving situation in Afghanistan.

Putin criticised an idea of some Western countries to send refugees from Afghanistan to neighbouring Central Asian countries while their visas to the United States and Europe are being processed, according to Reuters."We don't want Afghan militants arriving under cover of refugees," Ria Novosti quoted Putin as saying. He added that the issue of refugees from Afghanistan will be a priority for the Russian foreign ministry.

Some central Asian nations, including Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan — which share borders with Afghanistan — have raised concerns over the influx of refugees into their countries after fleeing Taliban regime. They are worried Islamic State fighters and other fundamentalists as well as religious extremists could infiltrate into the countries in the guise of refugees. Countries like Uzbekistan and Tajikistan fear that Taliban's hardline religious views could disturb their secular social fabric.