Erdogan says consensus reached on security at Kabul airport

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey, the US, and NATO have agreed on the scope of how to maintain the security of the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.

Erdogan said Friday the US has agreed to Turkey’s attached condition to provide security for the airport after the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan.

He added that the issue was discussed between Turkish and US defense ministers.

“We discussed with US and NATO on this issue. We decided on what we would accept and not accept and practical steps will be taken based on the situation of Afghanistan,” Erdogan said.

The latest development comes a day after US President Joe Biden announced that the American military mission in Afghanistan will officially end on August 31.

Meanwhile, a number of Afghan MPs stated that providing security for Kabul Airport is not enough and that NATO should provide security across Afghanistan.

MP Halima Sadaf Karimi said: “We welcome [Turkey move] for providing security for the Kabul Airport as the situation in Afghanistan is getting worse. But NATO allies need to address the insecurities across the country, and only securing Kabul airport is not enough.”