Turkey Urges Peaceful Resolution of Afghanistan-Pakistan Tensions
Turkey’s foreign minister said at the end of the meeting of foreign ministers of Turkic countries that these countries hope the ongoing tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan will be resolved and that Afghanistan will live in peace with its neighbors.
Hakan Fidan added during the meeting that stability in Afghanistan is important for Turkic countries and that they are closely monitoring the ongoing tensions between Kabul and Islamabad.
The Turkish foreign minister said: “We had the opportunity to assess the situation in Afghanistan. Our fundamental expectation is that Afghanistan lives in peace and stability with its neighbors. As you know, many member states of the Organization of Turkic States share borders with Afghanistan. Stability and calm there are important to us. We also discussed the tensions that have escalated in recent days between Afghanistan and Pakistan.”
Earlier, Russia’s foreign minister also stressed the importance of prioritizing dialogue and diplomacy to resolve tensions during a telephone call with the foreign minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
Indonesia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and China are among other regional countries that have also expressed readiness to help resolve tensions between Kabul and Islamabad.
Moeen Gul Samkani, a political analyst, said: “If these countries enter into dialogue and consultations with Afghanistan and the opposing side with good intentions, we can certainly expect positive results. However, in many cases such efforts are carried out with other objectives.”
Efforts to reduce tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan have increased as more than ten days have passed since the escalation of military tensions between the two countries, and no talks have yet taken place. However, the Islamic Emirate has repeatedly emphasized that it believes tensions should be resolved through diplomacy.
