Turkey to send humanitarian aid to Afghanistan via Pakistan

Turkey will send humanitarian aid to Afghanistan by land via Pakistan, the country's foreign minister said.

"We will send humanitarian aid (to Afghanistan). We will take it mostly from Pakistan and send it by land. It is both faster and less costly. We will increase the amount of humanitarian aid in the coming days," Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said after a nearly three-hour Cabinet meeting at the presidential complex in the capital Ankara on Monday.

Responding to a question whether Turkey has contacted the interim Taliban government in Afghanistan, Çavuşoğlu said: "There was a meeting at the ambassador's level. We have not gone there yet, neither have they come. They need humanitarian aid, food, medicine, and winter is coming. We are talking about these needs."

On the latest developments regarding the operation of Kabul airport, the top diplomat said negotiations are ongoing, with security concerns yet to be resolved.

ERDOGAN-PUTIN MEETING, TALKS WITH EGYPT

Asked about the meeting agenda of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Sochi, Çavuşoğlu said that it mainly focuses on Syria, Idlib and commercial relations. He also said that humanitarian aid in Syria and Libya could also be on the agenda during the meeting.

Erdoğan is scheduled to pay a working visit to Russia on Wednesday, according to Turkey's Communications Directorate.

Set to meet in Sochi, the two leaders are expected to discuss the bilateral cooperation between Ankara and Moscow, current regional developments, and international issues, with a particular emphasis on Syria, Libya, and Afghanistan, the Kremlin said.

On a question whether a high-level visit to Egypt is planned for the next period, Çavuşoğlu said: "The meeting with the Egyptian delegation and the joint statement following it (sounds) positive for the future. There is no visit planned at level of ministers and presidents at the moment."