Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan affirmed on Wednesday his country's openness to cooperation with the Taliban movement, which recently took control of Afghanistan, after the collapse of the Western-backed government forces.
The Turkish president welcomed the moderate statements made by the leaders of the Taliban movement after they took control of all of Afghanistan.
Erdogan said - during a televised interview this evening, Wednesday - that standing by Afghanistan in thick and thin is one of the requirements for fulfilling the covenant and brotherhood, regardless of the ruling party.
"We said previously that we could receive Taliban leaders, and we are still standing," he added.
The Turkish president made it clear that he is still seeking to maintain security at Kabul Airport, and revealed that his country is setting its plans "in accordance with the new facts formed on the ground, and we are continuing our negotiations on that basis."
He said that the Turkish military presence in Afghanistan will strengthen the new administration's hand in the international arena, and facilitate its work, adding that "our forces in Afghanistan have never been a fighting force and we have not used our soldiers there as a foreign force."
The Turkish president affirmed his government's readiness for "all forms of cooperation for the welfare of the Afghan people, the safety of our Afghan Turks and the interests of our country."