Afghan militants not acceptable in Russia: Vladimir Putin

New Delhi : President Vladimir Putin has rejected the idea of sending Afghanistan refugees to the countries near Russia, saying that he did not want "militants showing up here under cover of refugees", Russian news agencies reported.

He has criticized an idea of some Western nations to relocate refugees from Afghanistan to neighbouring Central Asian countries while their visas to the United States and Europe are being processed.

"Does that mean that they can be sent without visas to those countries, to our neighbours, while they themselves (the West) don't want to take them without visas?" TASS news agency quoted Putin as telling leaders of the ruling United Russia party.

"Why is there such a humiliating approach to solving the problem?" he said.

There were reports which claimed that the United States is conducting secret talks with several countries in a desperate attempt to secure deals to temporarily house at-risk Afghans who had worked for them.

Vladimir Putin has made it clear that he unconditionally rejects the idea. "We don't want militants showing up here under cover of refugees," TASS cited Putin as saying.

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