Afghanistan wants Türkiye to take over Kabul airport as US withdraws troops
After NATO forces withdrew from Afghanistan, Türkiye offered to manage and protect Kabul airport, requesting financial and logistical support for this.
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| US Air Force aircraft parked at Kabul airport, Afghanistan. Source: Airport-technology.com |
Afghanistan's National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib said the government is working to ensure that Turkey takes over security at Kabul airport after NATO troops withdraw.
"We are taking this matter step by step, there is no problem," Mohib said in an interview with Sputnik news agency.
He explained that the Afghan government had been expecting and preparing for foreign troops to leave before 2024, so Kabul was also expected to be ready to manage the airport by then.
However, the formal withdrawal began in May of this year and the US is planning to complete its withdrawal by the end of this summer, so some training has yet to be completed.
There needs to be a transition period, Mr Mohib said, in which a NATO member country – “and Türkiye is the perfect partner to do that” – could take over management of the airport until the Afghans are ready to take over.
After NATO forces withdrew from Afghanistan, Türkiye offered to manage and protect Kabul airport, requesting financial and logistical support for this.
Last week, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Ankara and Washington had discussed the arrangement, but had not yet made a final decision, and the two sides planned to continue discussions on security at Kabul International Airport after the US withdrawal.
The administration of US President Joe Biden has pledged to complete the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan between May 1 and September 11 in full coordination with allies.
In 2020, in Doha, Qatar, the US and the Taliban signed their first peace deal in more than 18 years of conflict. The deal stipulates the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan within 14 months and the start of inter-Afghan dialogue after a prisoner exchange.
However, after the US announced its plan to withdraw troops, the situation in Afghanistan worsened as the Taliban stepped up violence across Afghanistan, raising concerns about the Kabul government's ability to deal with the attacks./.
