Turkey has always played a constructive and key role in NATO’s Afghanistan mission since 2003, the alliance’s senior representative to Kabul, Sir Nicholas Kay, said in an interview with Hürriyet Daily News at the NATO headquarters in Brussels.
Kay has served as the U.K. ambassador to Afghanistan from 2017-2018 before being appointed as NATO’s senior civilian representative to Afghanistan.
“NATO, thanks to countries like Turkey -who made and still make a great contribution to the mission, we can see that Afghanistan’s security forces are ever more capable then they were in 2003,” Kay said.
Nicholas Kay emphasized that NATO need to be ready as conditions change in Afghanistan.
“NATO will also have to be ready to adapt to the changed conditions. NATO does not want to be there forever, but at the same time, we’re not in a rush to leave. We will leave when the conditions are right,” he added.
He further added that Turkey’s role is very key which provides the training, advice and assistance command for the capital, Kabul and it also has a great role in helping the Afghan security forces secure Kabul, allowing the whole of the international community to operate, including such important facilities as the international airport in Kabul.
