Sarp Ozer
02 July 2021•Update: 02 July 2021
ANKARA
Contacts between Turkey and the US over the security of Kabul's international airport after the US pullout will continue, Turkey’s national defense minister said Friday.
"No decision has been reached at the moment,” Hulusi Akar told reporters after his visit to Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
“We will discuss the outcome of the talks at a meeting chaired by our president. And we will put the plan into effect after the president’s approval,” he said.
Mentioning how Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan underlined that certain conditions must be met for Turkish troops to stay for the airport in the Afghan capital, Akar said: “We said we can stay if these conditions are met.”
“In this regard, our contacts with several countries continue,” he said. “We continue contacts for some political decisions to be taken by the UN and NATO, to reach an agreement with the Afghan government, and for political, financial, and logistical support from certain countries.”
Turkey has also said as the airport is an international concern, there must be foreign financial support for its security.
‘Lack of working airport would leave Afghanistan isolated’Stressing that Afghanistan is a “sister” country for Turkey, Akar said Turkey will continue to do whatever it can to ensure Afghans’ peace, stability, and security.
“The airport needs to be open and run. We are aware of this,” Akar said, adding that if Kabul airport doesn’t operate this would leave Afghanistan isolated.
A delegation of US State Department and Pentagon officials arrived in Ankara last week to discuss progress on efforts to keep Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul operational after the US troop pullout, set to conclude by Sept. 11.
Both parties later agreed to continue discussions, a Turkish National Defense Ministry statement said.
The situation in Afghanistan heated up after US President Joe Biden announced that all American forces will withdraw from the war-torn country by Sept. 11, with NATO allies doing the same.
Biden and Erdogan discussed the issue at a recent NATO leaders’ summit in Brussels.
Ankara has been running the military and logistic operations of the Kabul airport for six years as part of the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission.
Turkey, whose forces in Afghanistan have always been noncombatants, has reportedly offered to guard the airport amid questions over how security will be assured along major transport routes and at the airport, which is the main gateway to the capital.
