Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob has said the militant group considers Turkey an ally.
According to a report by the Independent’s Turkish service, Yaqoob, the son of Taliban founder Mullah Omar, said they want to build close relations with Turkey.
Yaqoob also said the group expects President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to be respectful towards them.
“Turkey is a country that hosts many Afghans and that we want to build close relations with. We consider Turkey an ally and not an enemy,” Yaqoob said on Sunday.
Turkey on Sunday urged its citizens in Afghanistan to contact the Turkish Embassy if they wanted to leave the country, as the Taliban entered Kabul.
On Monday victorious Taliban fighters patrolled Kabul after a stunningly swift end to Afghanistan’s 20-year war, as thousands of people mobbed the city’s airport trying to flee the group’s feared hardline brand of Islamist rule, Agence France-Presse reported.
President Ashraf Ghani flew out of the country on Sunday night as the insurgents encircled the capital, capping a military victory that saw them capture all cities in just 10 days.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday said he could meet with the leader of the Taliban.
The Taliban imposed an ultra-strict interpretation of sharia law during their 1996-2001 rule.
This included banning girls from schools and women from working, while people were publicly stoned to death for adultery.