Turkey's president Erdogan said on Friday that his government may strike a deal with the Taliban to remain in Afghanistan by securing Kabul's civilian airport. Dr. Aykan Erdemir joins The Greek Current to break down what Turkey’s potential engagement in Afghanistan might mean for Ankara and the West.
Earlier this year Turkey’s President Erdogan had hoped to build leverage over the US, the EU, and NATO by reaching a deal with Washington, DC to take over and secure Kabul’s international airport after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. That deal is all but dead after the Taliban took over Kabul. Turkey is continuing its dialogue with all the sides in Afghanistan, however, including the Taliban. Ankara has been in talks with the Taliban about providing technical help to operate Kabul airport after the Aug. 31 deadline for troops to leave Afghanistan. Dr. Aykan Erdemir joins The Greek Current to break down what Turkey’s potential engagement in Afghanistan might mean for Ankara and the West.
Dr. Aykan Erdemir is the senior director of the Turkey program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former Turkish lawmaker.
Read Aykan Erdemir’s latest op-ed in Balkan Insight: Turkey Turns to Taliban, But There is no More Airport Deal to Salvage
Read his contribution on Turkey in the FDD’s foreign policy tracker: FDD Biden Administration Foreign Policy Tracker - Late August
You can read the articles we discuss on our podcast here:
Turkey cannot take new refugee ‘burden’ from Afghanistan, says FM
US dropped from EU’s coronavirus safe travel list
Unvaccinated U.S. visitors could soon face new restrictions on travel to Europe.