Turkey welcomes political settlement in Afghanistan

ANKARA

Turkey has welcomed a solution to a months-long dispute on who will run Afghanistan following presidential elections and underlined that Turkey will continue to support the country.

“We welcome the settlement in Afghanistan and support all the parties that worked for the creation of an inclusive and representative government,” Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said at a panel held by the Antalya Diplomacy Forum on May 19.

The Afghan people deserve peace and prosperity and Turkey will always continue to support Afghanistan, he said, adding that NATO will also provide required assistance to this country until sustainable peace and stability prevail. Turkey has been part of NATO mission in Afghanistan since the early 2000s.

Çavuşoğlu also held phone conversations with the Afghan leaders after they agreed to form an inclusive government, including chairman of the Supreme Council for National Reconciliation, Abdullah Abdullah, former Vice President Rasheed Dostum and acting Foreign Minister Hanif Atmar.

Both Abdullah Abdullah and his main rival Ashraf Ghani claimed victory in September 2019 presidential elections, leading to a long dispute and political uncertainty. Following long negotiations, the two men agreed on a political reconciliation on the formation of a broad-based and inclusive government.

According to the deal, Ghani will continue to serve as the president while Abdullah will serve as the Chairman of the Supreme Council for National Reconciliation -the leading role in the country’s peace process with the Taliban- and will have the right to appoint half the cabinet.