President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stated that Turkey would be the “only reliable” country in the end to alleviate Afghanistan after the US gets out its troops, demonstrating Washington could depend on its Nato associate.
He also said he would talk over the issue in his initial face-to-face conference with US President Joe Biden on the limits of a Nato meeting in Brussels on Monday, after tense 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 said before leaving for the meeting.
He also said that Turkish authorities had told their American allies about Ankara’s plans in Afghanistan after the US troop withdrawal, without giving further info. They are “pleased and happy. We will be able to discuss the Afghanistan process with them,” he said. Turkey has made clear its objectives to remain in the devastated country, but the specifics remain vague.
A Turkish authorized person said Turkish troops could stay “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 authorisation?” asked the official, But, they added, “why should Turkey try hard if nobody is going to give support? These issues need to be clarified.”
“There were rumours here and there. We need to leave them behind and discuss what we can do,” he said. “We expect to see an approach from the US without ifs and buts.”
