The United States is working together with Turkey and Qatar on Afghanistan’s Kabul Hamid Karzai International Airport, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.
Saying that opening the airport and regional airports is important, Psaki in a press briefing said, “On the airport front, the more specific piece we’re working on with the Qataris and the Turks, who are important partners here, is getting the civilian side of the airport up and operational again so that we can use that not just for flights for people to depart, but also for humanitarian assistance.”
With the Taliban (outlawed in Russia) in possession of Kabul's airport after the U.S. completed its withdrawal on Aug. 31, the focus will now shift from the mammoth Western evacuation operation seen in the past two weeks to the group's future plans for the transport hub.
Turkey had offered to run security following the withdrawal of foreign troops, but the Taliban repeatedly said it would not accept any foreign military presence in Afghanistan after Aug. 31.
