ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th August, 2021) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that he does not rule out the possibility of signing a deal with the Taliban (a terrorist group, banned in Russia) similar to a deal he signed with Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA).
In November 2019, Erdogan signed a memorandum on maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean with GNA leader� Fayez Sarraj. Under the deal, Turkey deployed military instructors to Libya in early 2020 and extended the term of deployment for another 1.5 years last December.
"I cannot say that we cannot conclude an agreement with the Taliban similar to the one we signed with Libya. We only need to find a descent partner for talks. If we find such a negotiator, why not sign such a deal? The main thing for us is to solve the problem," Erdogan told reporters, as quoted by Turkish broadcaster NTV.
He criticized the Taliban's proposal for Ankara to manage the Kabul airport and leave the security issues to itself.
"If you [Taliban] take charge of security and we of management,, then if blood is shed, how are we going to explain it to the world? It is a complicated work. Look, 200 people died there not long ago," the Turkish president said.
On Saturday, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid refuted the reports suggesting that the movement had agreed to delegate the security of the Kabul airport to Turkey.
On Friday, Erdogan said that Turkey's military contingent had been withdrawn from Afghanistan in full. The Taliban said on Tuesday that they were interested in good relations with Turkey but did not want the Turkish soldiers to be present in Afghanistan.
