Washington. July 8. INTERFAX-US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar discussed issues related to ensuring the security of the Kabul airport after the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan in a telephone conversation, the Pentagon said.
"The two leaders confirmed the importance of ensuring proper security of the Hamid Karzai International Airport and agreed to continue discussing this topic in the near future," the message reads.
Austin also " reaffirmed the importance of the long-standing defense relationship between the United States and Turkey."
As reported, in May of this year, US and Turkish Presidents Joe Biden and Recep Tayyip Erdogan reached an agreement that the Turkish military will play a leading role in ensuring the security of the Kabul airport after the completion of the NATO mission in Afghanistan.
Later in June, Akar confirmed its readiness to ensure the security of the Kabul airport, subject to appropriate conditions.
"If there are appropriate conditions, we will continue to ensure the security of the Hamid Karzai Airport," the minister said, adding that " no decision has been made on this issue yet."
In turn, the leadership of the Afghan Taliban movement (banned in the Russian Federation) opposed Turkey's retention of its military contingent in Afghanistan.
"Turkey has been part of the NATO forces for the past 20 years, so they should withdraw from Afghanistan on the basis of the agreement that we signed with the United States on February 29, 2020," the media quoted the statement of the Taliban representative in Doha, Suhail Shaheen.
The United States and the United Kingdom and some other NATO countries are also considering the possibility of maintaining part of the military in Afghanistan to protect their diplomatic missions.
On Tuesday of this week, Shaheen told the BBC television and radio corporation that after the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country, foreign embassies will not need armed protection.
"We are against foreign armed forces, and not against the activities of diplomats, workers and non-governmental organizations and embassies. This is what our people need. We will not pose any threat to them, " he stressed.
At the same time, as American officials have repeatedly stated, the United States connects the security of the Kabul airport with the continuation of the "diplomatic presence" in Afghanistan.
