Erdogan: US Can count on Turkey after Afghan pullout

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday said Turkey would be the “only reliable” country left to stabilize Afghanistan after the US pulls out its troops, indicating Washington could rely on its NATO ally. Erdogan also said he would discuss the issue in his first face-to-face meeting with US President Joe Biden on the margins of a NATO summit in Brussels today, after strained relations between their two countries. “America is preparing to leave Afghanistan soon and from the moment they leave, the only reliable country to maintain the process over there is obviously Turkey,” Erdogan told reporters at an Istanbul airport yesterday before leaving for Brussels.

The United States is in the final stages of completing a military drawdown, alongside NATO forces, by September 11 — 20 years after they invaded Afghanistan and toppled the Taleban. Turkey has reportedly said it is prepared to keep troops in Afghanistan to protect Kabul airport, the main exit route for western diplomats and humanitarian workers. Erdogan said yesterday that Turkish officials had informed their American counterparts about Ankara’s plans in Afghanistan after the US troop pullout, without providing details.

They are “pleased and happy. We will be able to discuss the Afghanistan process with them,” he said. Turkey has made clear its intentions to stay in the war-torn country, but the details remain unclear. A Turkish official said Turkish troops could remain “as long as certain conditions including legal and financial are met.” “If Turkey is to stay it will do so under which frame: under NATO umbrella or bilateral terms? And if it will be under NATO auspices, under which authorization?” asked the official, who wished to remain anonymous. The official also confirmed that Western powers were willing to let Turkey stay and protect the Kabul airport. But, the official added, “why should Turkey try hard if nobody is going to give support? These issues need to be clarified.” —AFP