Turkey, Taliban hold talks in Kabul as airport security in doubt
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara hasn't decided whether to provide the Taliban with technical assistance at Kabul's international airport.
Turkey hasn’t made a decision on whether to help the Taliban operate Kabul’s international airport, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday following talks in the Afghan capital between Ankara and the Islamist group.
“We have held our first talks with the Taliban, which lasted three and a half hours,” Erdogan told reporters. “If necessary, we will have the opportunity to hold such talks again.”
“What are their expectations? What is our expectation? You can only know these through dialogue,” he said of the meeting between Turkish embassy officials and the Taliban.
Their meeting came a day after the Islamic State’s affiliate in Afghanistan, ISIS-K, claimed responsibility for the deadly bombings outside Hamid Karzai International Airport. The twin blasts in Afghanistan’s capital city killed more than 100 people, including 13 US servicemembers.
