Istanbul:
Repairs will need to be made at Kabul airport prior to it can be opened to civilian flights, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stated on Sunday, as Ankara considers delivering enable to the Taliban to operate the airport.
Ankara has been in talks with the Taliban about delivering technical enable to operate Kabul airport immediately after the August 31 deadline for troops to leave Afghanistan but stated the current bombing underlined the will need for a Turkish force to safeguard any specialists deployed there.
Cavusoglu stated on Sunday that inspection reports show runways, towers and terminals, such as these in the civilian side of the airport, had been broken and that these necessary to be repaired.
“Personnel is needed for this. Likewise, the required equipment needs to be provided,” he stated.
Turkey, which is aspect of the NATO mission, has been accountable for safety at the airport for the last six years. Keeping the airport open immediately after foreign forces hand more than manage is very important not just for Afghanistan to keep connected to the world but also to sustain help supplies and operations.
Speaking at a news conference with his German counterpart, Cavusoglu stated the airport initially wants to be operated to enable send humanitarian help into the nation and continue evacuations.
“But also for the airport to be open to civilian flights, including Turkish Airlines, the deficiencies we mentioned need to be taken care of and work needs to be done,” he stated, adding that the requests had been becoming relayed to the Taliban.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas stated Germany was grateful to Turkey for its supply to continue to enable run the airport immediately after NATO’s withdrawal and stated Germany was prepared to help that financially and technically.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters on Saturday that “it is a bit too early to decided whether we will need Turkey or Qatar’s help to operate Kabul airport.”
President Tayyip Erdogan has stated Turkey has not made a final selection about operating the airport for the reason that of safety issues and that his nation was “not in a rush to start flights” once more to Kabul.
“How can we give the security to you (the Taliban)? How would we explain it to the world if you took over security and there is another bloodbath there? This is not an easy job,” he was quoted as saying by broadcaster NTV on Sunday.
EMBASSY
In an interview with Turkish media on a flight back from Montenegro, Erdogan also stated the Turkish embassy in Kabul had relocated to its constructing in the city immediately after operating from the airport for two weeks. He added that Turkey would sustain its diplomatic presence in Kabul.
“They returned to our embassy building in the city centre the other day and they are continuing their activities from here,” he was quoted as saying by broadcaster NTV.
“Our plan now is to maintain our diplomatic presence in this way. We are continuously updating our plans according to developments regarding the security situation,” Erdogan stated.
NATO nations have been pulling out their diplomatic missions in Afghanistan following the Taliban’s victory in the nation two weeks ago. Turkey has evacuated civilians and troops from Afghanistan except for a little “technical group”.
Erdogan has stated Turkey welcomes the Taliban’s statements so far with “cautious optimism” but that it desires to see its actions.
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