Presidency of Barack Obama

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has said that he will speak over the phone with his U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin on July 7 in line with the ongoing talks on the operation and security of the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan.

President Joe Biden on June 25 promised Afghanistan's top leaders a "sustained" partnership even as he moves to accelerate winding down the United States' longest war amid escalating Taliban violence.

Ambassador Hakan Tekin, director general for South Asia at the Turkish Foreign Ministry, met Massoum Stanekzai, the Afghan government's top peace broker, in the Qatari capital Doha on June 8. 

According to a statement by the negotiating team in Kabul, Stanekzai and Tekin discussed ways and means to expedite the stalled peace drive.

Afghanistan's Taliban on May 10 announced a three-day cease-fire for the Eid-al-Fitr holiday this week marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The cease-fire would begin on either May 12 or May 13. The Muslim calendar follows lunar cycles and the Eid holiday depends on the sighting of the new moon.

The United States formally begins withdrawing its last troops from Afghanistan on May 1, bringing its longest war nearer to an end but also heralding an uncertain future for a country in the tightening grip of an emboldened Taliban.

The US and Nato allies has started formally withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, beginning the end of what President Joe Biden called "the forever war".

The US and Nato have had a presence in Afghanistan for almost 20 years.

But the withdrawal, which runs until 11 September, comes amid escalating violence, with Afghan security forces on high alert for reprisal attacks.

Turkey announced on April 20 that it is postponing a much-anticipated Afghan peace conference in Istanbul until the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Turkey announced on April 13 that a keenly awaited international conference on the Afghan peace process will be held in Istanbul from April 24 to May 4.

The high-level and inclusive conference between representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban is being co-convened by Turkey, Qatar, and the U.N., according to a joint statement issued by the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on April 14 the moment has come to withdraw troops from Afghanistan and that Washington would work with NATO allies on a "coordinated" pull-out.     

"Together, we have achieved the goals that we set out to achieve and now it is time to bring our forces home," Blinken said in Brussels ahead of talks with NATO partners.     

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the Afghan peace process and a number of other issues in a phone call on April 12.