War in Afghanistan

Hailing "valuable and trusted friend" Turkey for its willingness to host peace talks, Afghanistan on March 14 said the meeting could prove to be a vital step forward in the quest for stability in the war-weary country.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and his Afghan counterpart Hanif Atmar spoke about the Afghan peace process over the phone on March 13, according to diplomatic sources.

The two discussed a meeting on the peace process set to be held in Istanbul on April, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Turkey and Egypt have started diplomatic-level contacts after years-long hiatus with disruption of relations in 2013, according to the Turkish foreign minister.

"We have contacts both at the level of intelligence and foreign ministries with Egypt. Diplomatic-level contacts have started," Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said in an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency and TRT.

Turkey is ready to take part in mediation efforts for peace in Afghanistan and the region, the country's ruling party spokesman said on March 9. 

"Afghanistan is a very important country for us," Ömer Çelik, spokesman for the AKP, told reporters in the capital Ankara after a meeting of the party's Central Executive Board.

In a bid to accelerate the stalled peace process, a meeting between the Afghan government representatives and the Taliban would be arranged in Turkey, according to a letter leaked by Afghanistan's Tolo News on March 7. 

The letter was sent by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, revealed in the leaked letter.

Chief of Defense Admiral Emil Eftimov will participate in the solemn ceremony dedicated to sending off the 42nd  Bulgarian military contingent designated to participate in train, advise and assist Resolute Support NATO mission in Afghanistan. The ceremony will take place in Vasil Levski Square in Karlovo starting at 3:30 p.m.

The western Arad border police have found, within the last 24 hours, 28 immigrants who were trying to illegally get out of Romania, hidden in trucks or walking in the field, all being from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Somalia. In a truck driven by a Romanian, verified at the Nadlac II Border Crossing, there were six immigrants found.

Turkish presidential spokesman İbrahim Kalın on Dec. 3 welcomed U.S. special representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, the presidency said in a statement.

In a meeting at the presidential complex in the capital Ankara, the two discussed the ongoing intra-Afghan peace talks in Doha, Qatar, which are aimed at ending 19 years of war, as well as regional issues.

Turkey on Nov. 29 condemned the terrorist attack in central Afghanistan that killed at least 30 people, including both soldiers and civilians.

The death of a 27-year-old Afghan asylum seeker at the Ritsona migrant camp on Evia has sparked fresh protestations over the absence of a Muslim cemetery in Greece except for Thrace, leading to bodies being left in mortuaries for lack of a viable alternative.