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Aussie PM Malcolm Turnbull says Trump agrees to accept refugees

To resettle number of refugees languishing at Australia's expense in Pacific island camps

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced the arrival of US officials on Saturday REUTERS
AP | PTI Canberra
Last Updated : Jan 30 2017 | 9:15 AM IST
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says President Donald Trump has agreed to resettle an unspecified number of refugees languishing at Australia's expense in Pacific island camps.

Turnbull said today during a 25-minute telephone conversation on Sunday that Trump had agreed to uphold an undertaking given by President Barak Obama's administration in its final months.

Turnbull declined to say how many refugees might be resettled in the United States.

The Obama administration had agreed to resettle refugees among almost 1,300 asylum seekers held at Australia's expense on the island nations of Nauru and Papua New Guinea.

Most of the asylum seekers are Muslims from the West Asia, Africa and Asia.

Australia refuses to resettle any refugee who has arrived by boat since a tougher policy was announced in 2013.

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First Published: Jan 30 2017 | 8:35 AM IST

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