TURKEY’s «SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP» WITH THE TALIBAN: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE EU AND NATO

Abstract

The article focuses on two international political aspects of the radical changes in the situation in Afghanistan after the seizure of power there by the Taliban: the problem of legalizing the new government through its recognition by other states, first, and Ankara’s intensified efforts to establish «special relations» with the Taliban, second. The attempts of the latter to achieve their recognition on the world stage have at the moment not led to the desired result for them. Neither the «collective West», nor Russia, China and the countries of the Middle East and Central Asia are in a hurry to recognize the government of the group classified by the UN as a terrorist organization. At the same time, the threat of a humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan is becoming more and more obvious. The world community is looking for ways to provide assistance to the population of this country. At the same time, Russia (the «Moscow format») and Turkey have noticeably stepped up their diplomatic efforts. The article examines the main motives of Ankara, which, according to the author, perceives the problem of Afghanistan not only from the perspective of bilateral relations with it, but also in the broader context of rivalry between the leading states of the Middle East region. The author emphasizes that the Taliban and the Turkish leader RT Erdogan are linked by a common ideological platform – Islamism. At the same time, Erdogan seeks to present himself in the eyes of NATO partners as a mediator between the alliance and the Taliban government.