Istanbul, Turkey: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said the turkey will be the “only reliable” country that remains to stabilize Afghanistan after the US attracts his troops, shows Washington can rely on his NATO allies.
Erdogan also said he would discuss this issue in his first face-to-face meeting with US President Joe Biden on the NATO Summit Margin in Brussels on Monday, after a tense relationship between their two countries.
“America is preparing to leave Afghanistan immediately and from the moment they leave, the only reliable country to maintain the process there is clear Turkey,” Erdogan told reporters at Istanbul airport on Sunday before leaving for Brussels.
The United States is in the final stage of completing military drawdown, along with NATO forces, on September 11 – 20 years after they invade Afghanistan and overthrow the Taliban.
Turkey reportedly said it was ready to keep troops in Afghanistan to protect Kabul airport, the main outgoing route for Western diplomats and humanitarian workers.
Erdogan said on Sunday that Turkish officials had told their American colleagues about ankara plans in Afghanistan after pullout US forces, without giving details.
They are “happy and happy. We will be able to discuss the Afghan process with them,” he said.
Turkey has explained his intention to live in a torn country of war, but the details remain unclear.
A Turkish official said Turkish forces can remain “as long as certain conditions including law and finance are fulfilled.”
“If Turkey remains, it will do it where the frame: Under the NATO umbrella or bilateral term? And if it will be under the tone of the tone, where is the authorization?” Asked the official, who wanted to remain anonymous.
The official also confirmed that Western power was willing to let Turkey stay and protect Kabul airport.
But, the official added, “Why should Turkey try hard if no one will provide support? These problems need to be clarified.”
On Saturday Taliban said that foreign troops had to hold “not hoping” to maintain the presence of the military in Afghanistan after the US and NATO pulled troops, warning the security of the embassy and the airport would be the responsibility of Afghanistan.
– ‘Without IFS and Buts’-
The relationship between the US and Turkey has been tense in recent years, and Erdogan said he wanted to change a new page with Biden administration.
“There are rumors here and there. We need to leave them and discuss what we can do,” he said.
“We hope to see the approach from the US without IFS and but.”
Relations have deteriorated sharply since Biden replaces Ally Donald Trump Erdogan in January.
Biden especially acknowledged the Armenian genocide by the Ottoman Empire during World War I, a move that made the turkey angry who rejected the term.