Turkish Foreign Minister (FM) Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu hosted his Iranian and Afghan counterparts—Mohammad Javad Zarif and Mohammad Haneef Atmar—on the sidelines of the 2021 Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey on Sunday.
#ADF’nin son gününe #İran ve #Afganistan Dışişleri Bakanları Cevad Zarif ve Hanif Atmar ile üçlü toplantıyla başladık.
— Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (@MevlutCavusoglu) June 20, 2021
Started last day of @AntalyaDF with a trilateral meeting with Foreign Ministers of #Iran and #Afghanistan, @JZarif and @MHaneefAtmar.🇹🇷🇮🇷🇦🇫 pic.twitter.com/geaUWnppDp
Following the talks, the FMs released a joint statement reaffirming “their commitment to enhancing solidarity and cooperation further.” A large part of the meeting focussed on discussing ways to increase efforts to ensure “lasting peace” in Afghanistan. In this regard, the trio stressed the importance of “the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process (HoA-IP) as a substantial platform that contributes to regional stability in fields ranging from political and security cooperation to economic integration.”
The HoA-IP, officially launched in Istanbul in 2011, is an initiative by Kabul and Ankara to promote peace in the war-torn nation by providing a platform “for sincere and results-oriented regional cooperation” and placing Afghanistan at its centre. The conference brings together countries with a direct and indirect stake in Afghanistan and enables cooperation through various confidence-building measures.
The statement said the role of “regional and neighbouring countries,” particularly Iran and Pakistan, in creating “conducive conditions” for the “voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable repatriation” of Afghan refugees was crucial in ensuring the region’s stability. In this respect, the three envoys agreed to “enhance cooperation in the field of migration and urged the international community to increase technical and financial assistance to host countries in taking care of the essential needs of Afghan refugees.”
Moreover, the statement “deplored the continuing high level of violence in Afghanistan,” especially attacks on civilians. It “called on the Taliban to fulfil their commitment for ending violence, establishing an immediate and permanent ceasefire and achieving an inclusive negotiated settlement” that would bring peace to Afghanistan. The statement reiterated that “sustainable peace can be achieved only through an inclusive Afghan-led and Afghan-owned political process.”
The Summit comes amid the United States’ (US) decision to withdraw all American troops from Afghanistan by the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. This drawdown of troops is likely to create a security vacuum in the war-torn country, leading to greater destabilisation, which would also negatively affect the security of Kabul’s neighbours.
Following Washington’s announcement, Ankara has shown greater interest in filling the void created by the exit of US and NATO forces. Earlier this month, Turkey said it was interested in guarding and running the Kabul airport and was in talks with the US in this regard. Apart from the HoA-IP, Turkey is also actively involved in the Afghan peace process and has previously provided training to Afghan security forces through the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission.
During the Forum, FM Çavuşoğlu said that maintaining the security of Kabul airport is “very important [as] it is Afghanistan’s gateway to the world. “It is important not only for Afghanistan but also for the survival of all diplomatic missions there, including Turkey,” Çavuşoğlu added. “The Afghan administration also wants Turkey to stay here.”
While the Taliban has vehemently opposed Turkish presence in Afghanistan, the Afghan government has welcomed Turkey’s willingness to secure Kabul airport. Afghan FM Atmar told Anadolu Agency that Turkey’s presence in Afghanistan “will be necessary for the continuous presence of diplomatic community, as well as the continued support of the international community to Afghanistan and our national security forces.” Atmar said, “Turkey has made a bold and very much commendable initiative” that Afghanistan “fully” supports.
Iranian FM Zarif also emphasised the need for “active participation of the three countries in the Afghan peace process and against terrorism in the region.” Iran has been seeking to play a more significant role in Afghanistan and is likely to step up its efforts following the exit of US troops from the region. Iran has vowed to facilitate peace in Afghanistan, and in this regard, Iran has sought to engage with Afghanistan’s neighbours, especially Pakistan.
The trilateral meet comes as Turkey held its first annual Antalya Diplomacy Forum, which saw a high turnout of leaders and FMs of many countries. FM Çavuşoğlu held over 50 bilateral meetings with envoys and heads of countries including Croatia, Iraq, Kuwait, Pakistan, Poland, Tajikistan, and Venezuela.