‘Turkey, NATO to continue supporting Afghanistan’

ANKARA

Turkey and NATO will continue supporting Afghanistan as long as Kabul seeks their help, the Turkish foreign minister said on Monday.

Speaking at a joint news conference with Afghanistan’s acting Foreign Minister Idrees Zaman, Mevlut Cavusoglu said Afghanistan has been going through a “sensitive time”.

He said some international attempts for peace in Afghanistan have failed and voiced hope that the efforts would activate a positive process among Afghans.

“We will maintain our presence and support in Afghanistan as long as it needs Turkey and NATO,” Cavusoglu added.

Zaman, for his part, said: “I appreciate the time and energy put together and invested by the participating countries and by the political support that we have received from our Turkish brothers in a critical time in our history.”

On the one hand Afghanistan is pursuing the peace process and peace talks, and on the other hand it is waiting for the results of historic elections that it had a few weeks ago, Zaman stressed.

Zaman underlined that this election was different from the elections in the past as it was completely managed by the Afghan officials at the Independent Election Commission, and security of the election was taken over and covered by Afghan defense and security forces.

The election commission was supposed to announce on Nov. 7 the final results of the presidential polls in which a total of 13 candidates vied for the top office, but it is yet to announce the preliminary poll results.

The commission is currently recounting votes in a total of 8,255 disputed polling stations across the provinces with an aim to come-up with the preliminary results.

Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump flew to Afghanistan on an unannounced visit and said his administration resumed peace talks with the Taliban.

Turkey-Libya Maritime Pact

Cavusoglu said after the signing of a maritime pact between Turkey and Libya, Greece’s contact with East Libya-based commander Khalifa Haftar was “not legitimate”.

On Nov. 27, Turkey and Libya’s Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) signed the bilateral memorandum.

The memorandum asserts Turkey’s rights in the Eastern Mediterranean in the face of unilateral drilling by the Greek Cypriot administration, clarifying that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) also has rights to the resources in the area.

Since 2011, when longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi was ousted and killed, Libya has seen the emergence of two rival seats of power: one in eastern Libya, to which military commander Khalifa Haftar is affiliated, and the Government of National Accord, which enjoys UN recognition.

Cavusoglu said the only legitimate government in Libya is the UN-recognized government in Tripoli under Fayez al-Sarraj.

“If Greece wants to do something with [Libya], it actually needs to contact with Tripoli,” he added.

Cavusoglu said the only legitimate government in Libya is the UN-recognized government in Tripoli under Fayez al-Sarraj.

“If Greece wants to do something with [Libya], it actually needs to contact with Tripoli,” he added.