The Taliban ruled Afghanistan with an iron fist from 1996 to 2001 and have fought for 20 years to topple the Western-backed government in Kabul and reimpose Islamic rule. "(The Taliban) need to end the occupation of their brothers' soil and show the world that peace is prevailing in Afghanistan right away," Erdogan told reporters before leaving for a trip to northern Cyprus. Ankara, which has offered to run and guard Kabul airport in the capital after NATO withdraws, has been in talks with the United States on financial, political and logistical support for the deployment. Last week the Taliban warned Turkey against those plans to keep some troops in Afghanistan to run the airport, calling the strategy reprehensible and warning of consequences. "In the statement made by the Taliban there is no phrase 'We don't want Turkey'," Erdogan said when asked about the comments.

Source: bd News24 July 19, 2021 12:00 UTC