Washington’s Afghan plan diplomatic godsend for Ankara
A US peace plan for Afghanistan, involving intra-Afghan talks in Turkey, could offer Ankara a chance to raise its international profile and break the ice with Washington.
US President Joe Biden is still keeping his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan waiting for a phone call, but Washington has recently cheered Ankara up by casting a role for Turkey in peace efforts in Afghanistan.
A US plan for Turkey to host a meeting to finalize a peace deal between the Afghan government and the Taliban is not an unlikely choice, as Turkey is the sole Muslim-majority member of NATO, which maintains a military mission in Afghanistan. As such, Turkey’s possible mediation might prove more effective than that of Qatar. But given the chill between the Biden administration and Ankara, the US move could be seen also as a gesture of goodwill or an attempt at mending a damaged partnership.
