Government spokesman Marios Pelekanou has denied a Turkish newspaper report that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani intended to apply for asylum in the Republic of Cyprus.

The Turkish newspaper Yeni Safak had claimed on Wednesday that Ghani had applied or was considering applying for asylum in Cyprus.

“We would like to clarify that such a request has never been submitted to the Asylum Service of the interior ministry, nor in any of our embassies abroad,” Pelekanou said on Thursday.

Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani left the country on Sunday as the Taliban took over the capital Kabul.