Turkey in dialogue with all sides in Afghanistan, including Taliban: FM

ANKARA

Turkey is continuing its dialogue with all the sides in Afghanistan, including the Taliban, the Turkish foreign minister has said, vowing that Ankara’s efforts for peace, stability and prosperity of the war-torn country will endure.

“We maintain our dialogue with all parties, including the Taliban. Likewise, important personalities such as Abdullah Abdullah and Hamid Karzai, who were part of the negotiations in the past, are still in Kabul and are making preparations for talks with the Taliban,” Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu told reporters at a press conference with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in Amman on Aug. 17.

Qatar is playing an important role in efforts for a smooth transition through the establishment of an interim government, Çavuşoğlu said, underlining that the need for calming down the situation in Afghanistan following the Taliban’s lightning advance and takeover of Afghanistan over the weekend.

“We view positively the messages that the Taliban has given so far, whether to foreigners, to diplomatic individuals, or its own people. We hope to see these in action as well,” he said. “We, as Turkey, will continue to support the economic development, stability, peace and tranquility of brotherly Afghanistan.”

Citing the panic and chaos in Kabul after the Taliban’s takeover of the control of the country, Çavuşoğlu expressed sorrow over the death of some Afghan nationals during the stampede at the international airport. “Of course, we do what is necessary for those who want to leave the country safely,” he said, recalling Turkey has the responsibility of operating and security of the airport.

Many countries, including Turkey, have evacuated some of their citizens from Afghanistan on Sunday and Monday. Turkey brought back 324 citizens from Kabul to Istanbul by a special flight of Turkish Airlines.
“There [at the airport] are also military forces of some brotherly countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom. Evacuations will continue after the security is fully established here in one or two days. As Turkey, we help not only our own citizens but also the citizens of other countries to evacuate,” he informed.

What kind of Afghanistan is awaiting us?

Informing that he engaged in dialogue with the foreign ministers of many countries, Çavuşoğlu said, “But what kind of an Afghanistan is awaiting us and what can we do? We, as Turkey, have always been the country lending most support to Afghanistan’s stability, peace and economic development. And we have never deployed combat troops here,” Çavuşoğlu recalled.

Turkey’s military presence in this country is for the protection and management of the airport, the Turkish top diplomat stressed, saying that “[Afghan parties] will negotiate all these issues amongst themselves, such as who will be in the transition government, what kind of government will there be... We will discuss all of these but the country needs to calm down now.”