Erdoğan welcomes 'moderate' statements by Taliban

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Turkey welcomes "restrained and moderate" statements made by Taliban leaders as the group takes over the country, President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said.

"Turkey is ready for all kinds of cooperation for peace in Afghanistan, the well-being of our kin in the country and the protection of Turkey's interests," Erdoğan said last night (August 18) in a live TV interview broadcast jointly on five pro-government channels — Kanal 7, Ülke TV, 24 TV, TVNET and TV 360.

He said Turkey's military presence in Afghanistan will strengthen the new administration's hand in the international arena.

"No matter who is in the administration, standing with Afghanistan in good and bad times is the requirement of brotherhood," Erdoğan said.

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Kabul airport

On the security of Kabul airport, he said Turkey is making its plans according to the new realities emerging in the field and continuing negotiations accordingly.

Since mid-June, Turkey has been in talks with the US to keep running and protecting the airport following the departure of the US-led forces from the country.

Turkey's priority is to ensure the peace and security of Turks in Afghanistan, Erdoğan stressed, adding that 552 citizens of Turkey have been evacuated from the country so far.

The president said he will likely talk to Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russia's President Vladimir Putin by the weekend.

As part of a peace deal reached in February 2020 between the US and the Taliban, this year international forces began their withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The agreement mandated that the Taliban not target foreign forces, but there was no provision on its actions toward the country's security forces.

While keeping negotiations with the government going in Doha, Qatar, the Taliban intensified its attacks since June, taking control of many districts and provincial centers in the past month.

The Taliban on Sunday took control of the capital Kabul, with President Ashraf Ghani and other key officials fleeing the country.

Iran border wall

Saying that Turkey is making a "great effort" to increase the effectiveness in the fight against irregular migration, Erdoğan remarked, "We have put in place different measures to strengthen our border security."

He said a border wall will be built along four provinces at the Iran border — Ağrı, Hakkari, Iğdır and Van.

The president said parts of the wall in Ağrı and Igdir were completed and work is halfway through in Hakkari.

"As of now, 157 kilometers [98 miles] have been completed. We will finish all of it," he added. The length of the border between the countries is 534 kilometers.

Since mid-July, Turkey has faced a new migration flow from Afghanistan with thousands of Afghan refugees crossing into the country from Iran.

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(KÖ/VK)