Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has declared his willingness to hold talks with the Taliban leadership.

He told the news channel CNN Türk that if it failed to establish contact with the Taliban leadership, peace would not be possible in Afghanistan.

He described the development as "very worrying".

One of the options he is considering is a meeting with the Taliban.

Rainer Hermann

Editor in politics.

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According to the state news agency Anadolu, Erdogan had previously telephoned Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, the Emir of Qatar, Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, and the new Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Wednesday.

Details were not given.

Erdogan told CNN Turk that he had discussed with the Qatari emir what had to be done to stop the Taliban's advance.

The Taliban maintain an official representation in the Qatari capital Doha.

In Doha, talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban that have so far been fruitless are also taking place.

"Turkey is not a rest stop"

Turkey is expanding its border wall with Iran, Erdogan said in the interview. This is to stop refugees from Afghanistan. Turkey is not a rest stop and will not tolerate irregular migration. But Ankara is basically ready to secure the airport of Kabul after the complete withdrawal of the international troops from Afghanistan. Erdogan had already announced in the past few days that he would speak to the Taliban about it.

In Berlin, the Federal Foreign Office has urged all Germans to leave Afghanistan urgently. The already valid departure recommendation has thus been tightened. For this purpose, scheduled flights should be used, advises the Foreign Office. Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) announced that Germany would fly a “larger number of people” from Afghanistan by the end of August. There will also be "one or two charter flights". In the event of the Taliban coming to power and establishing a caliphate, Germany would no longer pay a cent. So far, the aid to Afghanistan amounts to 430 million euros a year.

Federal Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU) spoke of "very, very bitter images" from Afghanistan. Experience must teach us to “look at the goals very realistically and to communicate very precisely what is achievable and what is not” during further assignments abroad. She reaffirmed her commitment to bring local Bundeswehr volunteers to Germany. That does not include local employees for other German institutions.

Kramp-Karrenbauer blamed the Afghan side for delays, which did not issue passports on time. Meanwhile, the Taliban captured Ghazni, the tenth provincial capital, within a week. It is only 150 kilometers from Kabul. Fierce fighting is also reported from other parts of the country. After Germany and the Netherlands, France is now officially suspending deportations to Afghanistan.