Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Turkey could well be conjectured as planning to expand its presence in Afghanistan, after the withdrawal of US Forces beyond offering training for Afghan soldiers and technical assistance.

Online portal Every Morning Asia recently reported that while Turkey is currently making its mark in the war-ravaged South Asian Nation through providing security at Kabul Airport, Ankara could even replace Washington DC in maintaining stability after the complete withdrawal of the US Forces in September 2021.

Turkey continues to offer security services at Kabul Airport, a key objective for NATO as the airport is a meeting point for many international diplomats, emissaries and humanitarian aid in Afghanistan, an aspect that the Alliance wants to maintain in the most safe and transparent manner even after the US withdrawal.

The Taliban has already rejected Turkey’s desire to continue maintaining security at Kabul Airport, an intention that international observers state is motivated by Ankara’s desire to be in good terms with the Joe Biden Administration over the removal of Turkey from the US sanctions on NATO ally due to Turkish acquisition of the Russian anti-missile system S-400, as well as the reintroduction of Ankara in the F-35 fighter jet programme.

It may be said that Turkey can strengthen its operation in Afghanistan beyond any NATO-led operation, as Ankara has a unique position on Afghanistan, compared to other regional powers seen as potential US replacements, such as Russia and China.

Currently, Turkey has good relations with both the Government of Afghanistan and the Taliban. Ankara has played a mediating role in the past when it held several meetings between the leaders of the two opposing sides in Afghanistan.

Turkey has also been traditionally well received in both China and Pakistan, the two Regional State Actors indispensable to any future solution for Afghanistan. As a member of the Turkey-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Summit, Ankara can ensure the rapprochement between Kabul and Islamabad (a Taliban supporter), seen even in Washington DC as the basis for any guarantee of long-term stability and security in post-US Afghanistan.

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/boundlessoceanofpolitics/

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/kousdas?s=09

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Linkedin:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/boundless-ocean-of-politics

Contact us: koushik@boundlessoceanofpolitics.co.in

Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das