Erdoğan says no Afghan airport deal without ‘inclusive’ government

Turkey expects the government in Afghanistan to be “inclusive” before any agreement can be made about operating Kabul’s strategic airport, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was quoted as saying on Sunday, according to Agence France-Presse.

Turkey had been planning to help secure and run the airport before the hardline Islamist Taliban swift capture of the Afghan capital last month.

There were also negotiations on the subject this summer between Turkish and US officials but after the Taliban’s return, Turkish troops stationed in the country pulled out.

Turkey’s withdrawal alongside other NATO forces followed the end of the United States’ longest military conflict last month.

The fall of Kabul shattered the plans but Turkey had been holding talks with the Taliban about the conditions under which it could help operate the airport.

“The government in Afghanistan is not inclusive, is not embracing all different factions. So long as that will be the question we won’t be present in Afghanistan, but if the government shall be more inclusive, we can be there, present, as Turkey,” Erdoğan told American broadcaster CBS News.

“We would expect all women to be involved in every aspect of life in Afghanistan in a very active way. And whenever women become more active in every aspect of life, we can support them,” he added, according to an interview transcript provided by CBS News.

Erdoğan discussed Turkey’s management of the airport with US President Joe Biden during their first meeting in June on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Brussels.

But relations are strained between the two presidents, with Erdoğan admitting on Thursday they had “not gotten off to a good start.”

One of the issues causing tensions is Turkey’s purchase of a Russian missile defense system, which Washington says is a threat to the Western alliance.

Ahead of a visit to Russia on Wednesday, Erdoğan indicated in the CBS News interview that Turkey would go ahead with a second purchase from Moscow.

“In the future, nobody will be able to interfere in terms of what kind of defense systems we acquire, from which country at what level,” Erdoğan said in response to questions about Turkey’s future intentions.