Turkey will not send more troops for Kabul airport security

Turkey will not send additional troops to Afghanistan as part of a plan to run and secure the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul after US and NATO forces leave the country.

This comes as Turkey has offered to take the security and run the airport after troops withdrawal from Afghanistan. 

TRT reports that a US delegation is expected to travel to Turkey to discuss Kabul airport’s security on Thursday, according to Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar.

Quoted by TRT, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Wednesday that Turkey had a military presence in Afghanistan working under NATO’s Resolute Support Mission to guard the airport for six years. 

He said details of the plan were still being discussed. 

TRT reports that Ankara has said it cannot carry out the mission without support. 

The Afghan government has said that it is in talks with Turkey over the security of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. 

Afghanistan will decide about the issue in light of its national interests, National Security Council said on June 18.

The Presidential Palace has pledged that all airports in Afghanistan will remain operational once the foreign forces withdraw from the country in the coming months.