Turkey seeking to gain foothold in Afghanistan
Turkey wants to gain a foothold in Afghanistan to serve a series of interests.
Most of these interests are linked
to the Turkish element in the population of the restive state.
Afghanistan's population contains Tajiks,
Turkmen and Uzbeks.
Turkey also wants to serve its
economic and trade interests and help its companies that do business with
Afghanistan.
Vested Turkish interests in
Afghanistan occur at a time there is regional and international rivalry over
the country.
This is especially true after the Taliban
took over Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.
In racing against each other for
Afghanistan, regional and international powers take advantage of the Taliban's desire
to open up to the international community.
They are capitalizing on the
movement's aspiration to receive international recognition and legitimize its
rule of the country.
It is important to note that Turkey
did not hurriedly withdraw its troops from Afghanistan.
The Turkish embassy in Kabul remained
open, despite rampant unrest in the Afghan capital.
However, Turkey gave priority to the
return of its nationals to their country. In this, Turkey acted differently
from the United States and European countries that gave priority to the
evacuation of their troops from Afghanistan.
Turkey's desire to remain in
Afghanistan was evident in remarks by Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar who
said his country would stay with the Afghan people as long as they want it.
These remarks were followed by
others by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who said the Taliban had asked
Turkey to operate the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.
