Presidency’s Director of Communications Fahrettin Altun said, "Turkish military forces are on their way home with the honour of having successfully completed yet another difficult mission. We are grateful for their service and sacrifice. And we will continue to stand with the Afghan people."
Director of Communications Altun shared the return of Turkish soldiers serving in Afghanistan on his social media account.
Stating that Türkiye has undertaken very important duties in ensuring peace and stability in Afghanistan, Altun reminded that the Turkish army had served in Afghanistan since 2002 under multilateral as well as bilateral agreements. Director of Communications Altun reported that they had supported the Afghan people and would continue to do so in their struggle to rebuild their country.
Emphasising that the Turkish Armed Forces have served honourably to provide security to the Afghan people and contribute to stability in Afghanistan over the past 20 years, Altun continued:
"The Afghan people’s sympathy towards our forces has been witnessed by everyone who visited the region. Türkiye, under the leadership of our President Erdoğan, has always advocated for a multilateral and international effort to maintain peace and security in the country. We have never seen the issue in Afghanistan as a refugee problem that needed to be isolated. The most recent scenes coming out of the Hamid Karzai International Airport are the result of some of the changing political dynamics in recent weeks. The rapidly deteriorating security at the airport required a reassessment of the situation on the ground. Türkiye had indicated its willingness to provide security at the airport if certain conditions were met. Despite the most recent turmoil at the airport, Turkish forces have helped maintain security and order. Our military planes evacuated some 1129 civilians.”
“Turkish military forces are on their way home with the honour of having successfully completed yet another difficult mission”
Expressing that Türkiye’s willingness to protect the Hamid Karzai International Airport was in line with the policies throughout the region, Fahrettin Altun noted that from Libya to Azerbaijan, Somalia to Syria and Afghanistan, Türkiye has been pursuing a human focused foreign policy with the belief that “no one is safe until everyone is safe in the region."
Indicating that Türkiye had made the decision to evacuate Turkish military forces and assets from the airport given the most recent developments and through consultations with partners; Altun stated, “Turkish military forces are on their way home with the honour of having successfully completed yet another difficult mission. We are grateful for their service and sacrifice. And we will continue to stand with the Afghan people.”