KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Afghanistan’s Embassy in Ankara, which was previously managed by diplomats of the former republic government, has now been handed over to Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The embassy said in a statement on Thursday that this decision was made after the Turkish government ended the mission of its ambassador and diplomats due to increasing pressure from the Taliban.
“In the absence of a legitimate government based on the will of the people, this embassy was handed over to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey,” the statement said.
The embassy indicated that over the past three years, it had interacted with the Taliban on consular matters but “never recognized the Taliban’s rule as a legitimate government.”
It remains to be seen if Turkey will allow Taliban envoys to take over the embassy.
Since taking control of Afghanistan, the Taliban has consistently sought to take over the control of the country’s embassies and consulates.
In August of last year, the Taliban announced that it would no longer recognize the credentials of Afghanistan’s diplomatic missions in several European countries due to their “lack of engagement” with the regime.
This decision created significant challenges for Afghanistan’s embassies and consulates, with many diplomatic missions in Europe suspending operations.
However, only a few of Afghanistan’s diplomatic and consular missions in Europe remain operational in coordination with the Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including the embassies in the Netherlands, Spain, Bulgaria, and the Czech Republic, as well as the Afghan Consulate in Munich, Germany.
