2021.07.03 國際新聞導讀-美國北約阿富汗撤軍即將於7月4日提早完成、以色列與約旦修好提供更多供水、普丁與猶太人的淵源

蘇老師講解國際新聞、中東與中亞歷史、中國事務、太空知識的頻道。 Diplomat's daily news review and history research on Middle East and Central Asia, China Affairs and Space Exploration

2021.07.03 國際新聞導讀-美國北約阿富汗撤軍即將於7月4日提早完成、以色列與約旦修好提供更多供水、普丁與猶太人的淵源

上一次美國，北約軍隊在 20 年後撤離阿富汗主要空軍基地 - 觀看

大多數美國軍事人員很可能會在 7 月 4 日之前離開，剩下的部隊將保留以保護大使館。

通過路透

2021 年 7 月 2 日 19:29

美國軍隊於週五撤出了他們在阿富汗的主要軍事基地，留下了他們 20 年前埋在一個國家的世貿中心的一部分，美國最高指揮官警告說，如果沒有他們，這個國家可能會陷入內戰。

“所有美國士兵和北約部隊成員都離開了巴格拉姆空軍基地，”一位不願透露姓名的美國高級安全官員說。

儘管未來幾天還有幾支軍隊尚未從首都喀布爾的另一個基地撤出，但巴格拉姆的撤軍有效地結束了美國歷史上最長的戰爭。

該基地位於喀布爾以北一小時車程處，是美軍協調其整個阿富汗任務的空戰和後勤支持的地方。塔利班感謝他們離開。

“我們認為這次撤軍是積極的一步。隨著外國軍隊的全面撤出，阿富汗人可以更接近穩定與和平，”塔利班發言人 Zabihullah Mujahid 告訴路透社。

去年 12 月，紐約市消防員和警察乘飛機掩埋世貿中心的一部分，正是在這裡，在一片佈滿子彈的蘇聯建造的跑道上，灌溉平原被興都庫什山脈白雪皚皚的山峰所環繞。 2001 年，在塔利班因窩藏奧薩馬·本·拉登而被推翻的幾天后。

也是在這裡，中央情報局為恐怖主義嫌疑人設立了一個“黑場”拘留中心，並讓他們遭受虐待，巴拉克奧巴馬總統隨後承認這是酷刑。

後來它膨脹成一個龐大的設防城市，供一支龐大的國際軍隊使用，有快餐店、健身房和一家供應“咖啡之母”的咖啡館。兩條跑道不停地轟鳴。總統們飛來並發表講話；名人來講笑話。

一名阿富汗官員表示，該基地將在周六的儀式上正式移交給政府。

這位美國國防官員表示，美國駐阿富汗最高指揮官奧斯汀米勒將軍“仍然保留著保護駐紮在首都喀布爾的部隊的所有能力和權力”。

本週早些時候，米勒在喀布爾告訴記者，阿富汗內戰“當然是一條可以想像的道路”，最近幾週，隨著外國軍隊飛回家，塔利班戰士席捲全國各地。

另外兩名美國安全官員本週表示，大部分美國軍事人員很可能會在 7 月 4 日之前離開，剩下的部隊將繼續保護大使館。

這將比拜登設定的時間表提前兩個多月，拜登曾承諾他們將在 9 月 11 日，也就是將他們帶到這裡的襲擊事件發生 20 週年之前回家。

華盛頓同意在去年拜登的前任唐納德特朗普領導下與塔利班談判的一項協議中退出，拜登拒絕了將軍們的建議，在叛亂分子與美國支持的喀布爾總統阿什拉夫加尼政府之間達成政治協議之前堅持下去。

“管理後果”

上週，加尼訪問了華盛頓。拜登告訴他：“阿富汗人將不得不決定他們的未來，他們想要什麼。” 加尼說，他現在的工作是“管理美國撤軍的後果”。

作為美國撤軍的交換條件，塔利班承諾不允許國際恐怖分子在阿富汗境內活動。他們承諾與阿富汗政府談判，但在卡塔爾首都多哈舉行的談判進展甚微。

美國駐阿富汗大使館本週在一份聲明中表示，美國堅定致力於援助阿富汗，並將在 2022 年提供 30 億美元的安全援助。多哈談判，以實現公正和持久的和平，”大使館說。

塔利班拒絕宣布停火。阿富汗士兵一直在投降或放棄他們的職位。在美國人到達之前與塔利班作戰的民兵組織正在拿起武器再次與他們作戰。

一位西方高級外交官表示，美國已要求三個中亞國家——哈薩克斯坦、塔吉克斯坦和烏茲別克斯坦——為大約 10,000 名曾與美國或盟軍合作過的阿富汗公民提供臨時住所。

幾個歐洲國家還為數百名阿富汗僱員及其家人提供避難所，因為他們面臨來自塔利班的直接威脅。

自從拜登宣布他將推進特朗普的撤軍計劃以來，叛亂分子在阿富汗各地取得了進展，特別是在北部，在他們被下台後的多年裡，他們的存在微乎其微。

官員周五表示，在東北部巴達克尚省，政府軍與塔利班之間的戰鬥正在加劇。

Last US, NATO troops vacate major Afghan air base after 20 years - watch

The majority of US military personnel would most likely be gone by July 4, with a residual force remaining to protect the embassy.

By REUTERS

JULY 2, 2021 19:29

American troops pulled out of their main military base in Afghanistan on Friday, leaving behind a piece of the World Trade Center they buried 20 years ago in a country that the top US commander has warned may descend into civil war without them.

"All American soldiers and members of NATO forces have left the Bagram air base," said a senior US security official on condition of anonymity.

Though a few more troops have yet to withdraw from another base in the capital Kabul in coming days, the Bagram pullout brings to an effective end the longest war in American history.

The base, an hour's drive north of Kabul, was where the US military has coordinated its air war and logistical support for its entire Afghan mission. The Taliban thanked them for leaving.

"We consider this withdrawal a positive step. Afghans can get closer to stability and peace with the full withdrawal of foreign forces," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters.

It was here, on a bullet-ridden Soviet-built air strip on an irrigated plain surrounded by the snow-capped peaks of the Hindu Kush, that New York City firefighters and police were flown to bury a piece of the World Trade Center in December, 2001, days after the Taliban were toppled for harboring Osama bin Laden.

It was also here that the CIA ran a "black site" detention center for terrorism suspects and subjected them to abuse that President Barack Obama subsequently acknowledged as torture.

Later it swelled into a sprawling fortified city for a huge international military force, with fast food joints, gyms and a cafe serving something called "the mother of all coffees." Two runways perpetually roared. Presidents flew in and gave speeches; celebrities came and told jokes.

An Afghan official said the base would be officially handed over to the government at a ceremony on Saturday.

The US defense official said General Austin Miller, the top US commander in Afghanistan "still retains all the capabilities and authorities to protect the force" stationed in the capital, Kabul.

Earlier this week, Miller told journalists in Kabul that civil war for Afghanistan was "certainly a path that can be visualized," with Taliban fighters sweeping into districts around the country in recent weeks as foreign troops flew home.

Two other US security officials said this week the majority of US military personnel would most likely be gone by July 4, with a residual force remaining to protect the embassy.

That would be more than two months ahead of the timetable set by Biden, who had promised they would be home by Sept. 11, the 20th anniversary of the attack that brought them here.

Washington agreed to withdraw in a deal negotiated last year with the Taliban under Biden's predecessor Donald Trump, and Biden rejected advice from generals to hang on until a political agreement could be reached between the insurgents and the US-backed Kabul government of President Ashraf Ghani.

"MANAGE THE CONSEQUENCES"

Last week, Ghani visited Washington. Biden told him: "Afghans are going to have to decide their future, what they want." Ghani said his job was now to "manage the consequences" of the US withdrawal.

In exchange for the US withdrawal, the Taliban have promised not to allow international terrorists to operate from Afghan soil. They made a commitment to negotiate with the Afghan government, but those talks, in the Qatari capital Doha, made little progress.

In a statement, the US Embassy in Afghanistan this week said the United States was firmly committed to assist Afghanistan and will provide security assistance of $3 billion in 2022. "We urge an end to violence, respect for the human rights of all Afghans and serious negotiations in Doha so that a just and durable peace may be achieved," the embassy stated.

The Taliban refuse to declare a ceasefire. Afghan soldiers have been surrendering or abandoning their posts. Militia groups that fought against the Taliban before the Americans arrived are taking up arms to fight them again.

A senior western diplomat said the US has asked three Central Asian nations - Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan - to temporarily provide home to about 10,000 Afghan citizens who had either worked with the US or allied forces.

Several European nations were also providing refuge to hundreds of Afghan employees and their families as they faced direct threat from the Taliban.

Since Biden's announcement that he would press ahead with Trump's withdrawal plan, insurgents have made advances across Afghanistan, notably in the north, where for years after their ouster they had a minimal presence.

Fighting was intensifying between government forces and the Taliban in the northeastern province of Badakshan, officials said on Friday.

以色列總理貝內特在華盛頓訪問前向約旦提出水建議

總理納夫塔利·貝內特同意出售 50 m。自 1994 年以來最大的此類銷售的立方米水

作者：托瓦·拉扎羅夫

2021 年 7 月 2 日 20:43

總理納夫塔利·貝內特( Naftali Bennett) 向約旦示好，並初步同意向這個容納數百萬難民的干旱國家出售 5000 萬立方米的水。

希伯來語網站 Ynet 報導了這個故事，並得到了耶路撒冷郵報的證實。

這是自 1994 年以色列-約旦和平條約以來最大的此類銷售，該條約規定每年自動分配 5500 萬立方米的水，每立方米 3 美分。

“以色列從未向約旦出售過如此大量的水，”長期參與區域水問題的以色列生態和平組織中東地區負責人吉迪恩·布羅姆伯格 (Gideon Bromberg) 說。

他說，“這反映了一個潛在的改變遊戲規則”的時刻已經發生，雙方現在都有機會創造一個更健康的聯合政治環境。

此次售水是在貝內特宣誓就職幾週後進行的，在他和約旦國王阿卜杜拉計劃今年夏天分別前往華盛頓與美國總統喬拜登進行首次獨立訪問之前，他和約旦國王阿卜杜拉計劃分開訪問。

約旦曾要求在五年內每年撥款 5000 萬立方米，但貝內特最初批准了到 2022 年。

之後，必須部分根據 Kinneret（也稱為加利利海）的水位對請求進行審查，目前該水位允許此類水銷售。

哈希姆王國已通過以色列-約旦聯合水務委員會向貝內特提出購水請求。

以色列能源部表示，該交易仍在討論中，最終批准可能會在下週給出。

水銷售的價格標籤仍然未知。過去的銷售，例如 2010 年每年分配的水量增加 1000 萬立方米，以及今年 4 月分配給約旦的 300 萬立方米，水價為每立方米 40 美分。

在前總理本雅明·內塔尼亞胡 ( Benjamin Netanyahu) 執政12 年期間，與以色列主要戰略區域合作夥伴之一約旦的關係緊張 。

水通常被視為以色列可以修復部分破壞的場所，特別是考慮到其海水淡化技術。鑑於他的政府與哈希姆王國之間的緊張局勢，內塔尼亞胡在批准約旦 300 萬立方米的請求方面猶豫不決。

“以色列和約旦需要改善他們的關係，水和能源問題可能是修復損害的核心，”布隆伯格說。

布隆伯格說，水可能是許多聯合倡議的核心，包括將約旦河恢復為兩國的國家水運載體。

他說，約旦正面臨嚴重的水資源短缺，威脅到君主制的穩定。

布羅姆伯格補充說，貝內特願意提供幫助表明他了解約旦對以色列的戰略重要性。

Israeli PM Bennett makes water overture to Jordan before Washington visit

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett agrees to sale of 50 m. cubic meters of water in biggest such sale since 1994

By TOVAH LAZAROFF

JULY 2, 2021 20:43

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett made an overture to Jordan and gave his initial agreement to the sale of 50 million cubic meters of water for the parched country that is host to millions of refugees.

The story was reported by Hebrew website Ynet and confirmed by The Jerusalem Post.

It's the largest such sale since the 1994 Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty which provides for an automatic annual allocation of 55 million cubic meters of water on an annual basis at three cents a cubic meter.

"Israel has never sold such large quantities of water to Jordan," said the Israel director of EcoPeace Middle East Gideon Bromberg, who has long been involved in regional water issues.

"It's a reflection of a potential game changer" moment that has occurred, where both both sides now have an opportunity to create a healthier joint political environment, he said.

The water sale comes just weeks after Bennett was sworn into office and in advance of separate trips both he and Jordan's King Abdullah plan to make to Washington this summer for their first independent visits with US President Joe Biden.

Jordan had asked for an annual allocation of 50 million cubic meters for five years, but Bennett gave an initial approval through 2022.

After that the request would have to be reviewed based in part on the water levels in the Kinneret otherwise known as the Sea of Galilee, which at present allow for such a water sale.

The Hashemite Kingdom has turned to Bennett with a water purchase request through the Israel-Jordan Joint Water Committee.

Israel's Energy Ministry said that the deal was still under discussion and that final approval would likely be given next week.

The price tag for the water sale is still unknown. Past sales, such as the expansion of the annual water allocation by 10 million cubic meters in 2010 and the three million cubic meter allocation to Jordan in April of this year, placed the water price at 40 cents per cubic meter.

Relations with Jordan, one of Israel's key strategic regional partners, were tense during the 12 years former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in office.

Water has often been viewed as an arena where Israel could repair some of that damage, particularly given its desalination technology. Netanyahu had dragged his feet on approving Jordan's three million cubic meter request in light of tensions between his government and the Hashemite Kingdom.

"Israel and Jordan need to improve their relations and water and energy issues can be at the heart of repairing the damage," Bromberg said.

Water could be at the heart of a number of joint initiatives, Bromberg said, including the rehabilitation of the Jordan River into a national water carrier for both countries.

Jordan is facing a severe water shortage that is threatening to destabilize the monarchy, he said.

Bennett's willingness to help is a sign that he understands Jordan's strategic importance to Israel, Bromberg added.

普京將以色列視為烏克蘭人和俄羅斯人團結的典範

“他們似乎彼此不同，但同樣，猶太人重視他們的團結，”他說。

作者：CNAAN LIPHSHIZ/JTA

2021 年 7 月 2 日 08:38

俄羅斯總統弗拉基米爾·普京在紀念列寧格勒圍城英雄紀念碑的正式落成典禮上發表講話

（照片來源：AMOS BEN-GERSHOM/GPO）

廣告

弗拉基米爾·普京顯然喜歡談論猶太人和以色列。

這一次他建議以色列為他在烏克蘭的設計提供了一個很好的模型。

在2017年回頭看，在能源面板，俄羅斯總統展開成90秒的笑談誰是關於怎麼搞多個敵人被問及他的指揮官自作聰明以色列士兵。士兵的建議：派遣更多的軍隊。

2019 年，在聽到一位拉比在克里米亞面臨財務挑戰時，普京開玩笑說：“所以猶太人在財務上有問題！” 然後他告訴拉比“Todah rabah”，希伯來語“非常感謝你”。

但普京周二在電視上拍攝的最新鏡頭走得更遠，為他如何看待猶太人提供了一些罕見的見解。從本質上講，他建議斯拉夫人民從以色列人那裡得到啟示，儘管種族、出身和母語不同，但團結起來成為一個民族。

在他一年一度的現場問答環節變成的新聞發布會上，普京被問到，儘管自 2014 年以來兩國之間發生了低強度的戰爭，但為什麼俄羅斯還沒有正式將烏克蘭列為敵對國家。

“因為我不認為烏克蘭人民對我們不友好，”俄羅斯領導人回答說，並補充說烏克蘭人和俄羅斯人“通常是一個人”。

普京繼續以以色列為榜樣。

“看，猶太人從非洲、歐洲和世界其他國家來到以色列。非洲人是黑人，是嗎？人們來自歐洲——他們說意第緒語，而不是希伯來語。他們似乎彼此不同，但同樣，猶太人重視他們的團結，”他說。

普京與俄羅斯猶太人有著深厚的感情，這體現在一系列利好政策上。在普京的領導下，當局打擊了反猶太主義的仇恨犯罪，猶太社區因共產黨沒收的財產而獲得了相當於數百萬美元的賠償，這有助於推動文化和宗教的複興。

最早的接觸是與住在列寧格勒（現為聖彼得堡）的家庭公寓樓的一個猶太家庭進行的。他們幫助照顧普京小時候和他的父母長時間工作。

普京在他的一本傳記中寫道：“他們是細心的猶太人，週六不工作，這個人會整天研究聖經和塔木德。” “有一次我什至問他在嘀咕什麼。他向我解釋了這本書是什麼，我立刻就感興趣了。”

普京的另一個有影響力的猶太人物是他的摔跤教練阿納托利·拉赫林（Anatoly Rakhlin），他激發了年輕的普京對體育的興趣，讓他離開了列寧格勒崎嶇的街道，在那里普京會在他父母工作時打架。據報導，在 2013 年拉赫林 (Rakhlin) 的葬禮上，普京情緒激動，放棄了他的安保人員，獨自一人走了一小段路。

2014 年，在訪問以色列期間，他遇到了他的前德語老師 Mina Yuditskaya Berliner，這是他生命中的另一位有影響力的人物，因為她給了他語言技能，後來幫助他爬上了克格勃的行列。他們在她租來的公寓裡聊了兩個小時；後來他為她買了房。

柏林在遺囑中將公寓留給了普京，並在她於 2018 年去世後歸還給他。

俄羅斯的兩個主要猶太社區組織將普京視為俄羅斯猶太人的友好力量。與此同時，隨著普京加強對俄羅斯媒體、法庭、LGBT 人群、其他少數族裔以及幾乎所剩無幾的言論自由的控制，數以萬計的俄羅斯猶太人近年來開始離開。

至於與以色列的比較，烏克蘭人往往不同意普京周二所說的“烏克蘭人和俄羅斯人是一個民族” 。一個親民主的基輔新聞網站稱普京在這個話題上是“破紀錄”。

Putin holds up Israel as a model of unity for Ukrainians and Russians

"They seem to be unlike each other, but all the same, the Jewish people value their unity,” he said.

By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ/JTA

JULY 2, 2021 08:38

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaking during an official inauguration of the monument honoring the heroes of the siege of Leningrad

(photo credit: AMOS BEN-GERSHOM/GPO)

Vladimir Putin clearly likes to talk about Jews and Israel.

This time he suggested that Israel offered a good model for his designs on Ukraine.

Looking back, at a panel on energy in 2017, the Russian president launched into a 90-second joke about a smartass Israeli soldier who was quizzed by his commander on how to engage multiple enemies. The soldier’s advice: Send more troops.

In 2019, hearing about the financial challenges of a rabbi in Crimea, Putin joked: “So the Jews have problems with finances!” Then he told the rabbi “Todah rabah,” Hebrew for “thank you very much.”

But Putin’s latest take, which he made Tuesday on television, went quite a bit further, affording some rare insight into how he thinks about the Jewish people. Essentially he suggested that Slavic peoples take a cue from Israelis and unite as one people despite different ethnicities, origins and maternal languages.

In his annual live question-and-answer session turned news conference, Putin was asked why Russia hasn’t formally classified Ukraine as a hostile country despite the low-intensity war between the two countries since 2014.

“Because I do not think that the Ukrainian people are unfriendly people to us,” the Russian leader replied, adding that Ukrainians and Russians “are generally one people.”

Putin went on to offer Israel as a model.

”Look, Jews come to Israel from Africa, from Europe, from other countries of the world. Africans are Black, yeah? People come from Europe — they speak Yiddish, not Hebrew. They seem to be unlike each other, but all the same, the Jewish people value their unity,” he said.

Putin has had strong emotional ties with Russian Jews that have been reflected in a series of favorable policies. Under Putin, authorities have cracked down on antisemitic hate crimes and Jewish communities have received the equivalent of millions of dollars in restitution for properties confiscated by the communists, helping to fuel a cultural and religious revival.

The earliest of those contacts was with a Jewish family who lived on his family’s apartment block in Leningrad, now St. Petersburg. They helped take care of Putin as a boy with his parents working long days.

“They were observant Jews who did not work on Saturdays and the man would study the Bible and Talmud all day long,” Putin wrote in one of his biographies. “Once I even asked him what he was muttering. He explained to me what this book was and I was immediately interested.”

Another influential Jewish figure for Putin was his wrestling coach, Anatoly Rakhlin, who sparked the young Putin’s interest in sports and got him off the rough streets of Leningrad, where Putin would get into fights while his parents worked. At Rakhlin’s funeral in 2013,Putin reportedly was overcome by emotion and ditched his security detail to take a short, solitary walk.

In 2014, during a visit to Israel, he met his former German teacher, Mina Yuditskaya Berliner, another influential figure in his life because she gave him the language skills that later helped him climb the ranks of the KGB. They had a two-hour chat in her rented apartment; afterward he bought the place for her.

Berliner left Putin the apartment in her will, and it was returned to him after she died in 2018.

Russia’s two main Jewish communal organizations see Putin as a friendly force for Russian Jews. At the same time, tens of thousands of Russian Jews began leaving in recent years as Putin tightened his grip on the Russian media, courts, LGBT people, other minorities and what little remains of freedom of expression.

As for the Israel comparison, Ukrainians tend not to agree that “Ukrainians and Russians are a single people,” as Putin said Tuesday. One pro-democracy Kyiv news site called Putin a “broken record” on the topic.

美國將土耳其列入涉及使用兒童兵的國家名單

在沒有總統豁免的情況下，列入此名單的政府在某些安全援助和軍事裝備的商業許可方面受到限制。

通過路透

2021 年 7 月 2 日 08:05

土耳其總統塔伊普·埃爾多安於 2020 年 12 月 14 日在土耳其安卡拉舉行內閣會議後的新聞發布會上發表講話

（圖片來源：總統新聞辦公室/通過路透社的講義）

廣告

美國周四將土耳其加入了過去一年中涉及使用兒童兵的國家名單，這是第一次將北約盟國列入此類名單，此舉可能會使已經存在的國家進一步複雜化。安卡拉和華盛頓之間的緊張關係。

美國國務院在其 2021 年人口販運 (TIP) 中確定，土耳其正在向敘利亞的蘇丹穆拉德部門提供“切實支持”，這是安卡拉長期以來一直支持的敘利亞反對派派系，以及華盛頓稱招募和使用的一個組織兒童兵。

土耳其沒有立即對此舉作出反應。

在與記者的簡報電話中，一位國務院高級官員還提到了在利比亞使用兒童兵的情況，稱華盛頓希望與安卡拉就這個問題進行合作以解決這個問題。

“特別是就土耳其而言……這是北約成員國第一次被列入兒童兵預防法案名單，”國務院官員說。“作為受人尊敬的地區領導人和北約成員，土耳其有機會解決這個問題——在敘利亞和利比亞招募和使用兒童兵，”她說。

土耳其在敘利亞針對所謂的伊斯蘭國以及美國支持的庫爾德民兵在敘利亞開展了三場跨境行動，並經常在自己的部隊之上使用敘利亞武裝戰鬥人員的派系。

其中一些團體被人權團體和聯合國指控不分青紅皂白地攻擊平民並進行綁架和搶劫。聯合國曾要求安卡拉控制這些敘利亞叛軍，而土耳其則拒絕了這些指控，稱其“毫無根據”。

土耳其通過代理人和自己的武裝部隊也捲入了利比亞衝突。安卡拉的支持幫助位於的黎波里的政府扭轉了埃及和俄羅斯支持的東部軍隊長達 14 個月的襲擊。

根據國務院的報告，在沒有總統豁免的情況下，列入這份名單的政府在某些安全援助和軍事裝備的商業許可方面受到限制。

目前尚不清楚任何限制是否會自動適用於土耳其，此舉引發了一個問題，即一旦美國完成撤軍，土耳其是否會破壞安卡拉與華盛頓就土耳其運營阿富汗喀布爾機場的談判。

國務院發言人內德·普萊斯說這兩件事不太可能聯繫在一起。“談到人口販運，我不想將今天的報告與我們正在與土耳其進行的建設性討論聯繫起來，在阿富汗或任何其他共同感興趣的領域，”他在一次簡報中說。

在北約撤軍後，土耳其提出保護和管理哈米德卡爾扎伊機場，並一直在與美國就該任務的後勤和財政支持進行談判。

在關係緊張的情況下，該任務可能成為安卡拉與其盟國之間潛在合作的領域，因為機場的安全對於撤出阿富汗後外交使團的運作至關重要。

拜登的國家安全顧問傑克·沙利文曾表示，為了執行這項任務，安卡拉尋求各種財政和運營支持，拜登總統在上個月與土耳其總統塔伊普·埃爾多安的會晤中表示，美國將提供支持。

在談到阿富汗問題時，普萊斯將土耳其描述為“非常有建設性和非常有幫助的合作夥伴”，並補充說華盛頓可以就其影響發表更多意見。

他說：“正如你所知，總統可能會放棄豁免，但如果確實如此，那將在未來幾個月內發生。”

US adds Turkey to list of countries implicated in use of child soldiers

Governments placed on this list are subject to restrictions on certain security assistance and commercial licensing of military equipment, absent a presidential waiver.

By REUTERS

JULY 2, 2021 08:05

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a news conference following a cabinet meeting in Ankara, Turkey, December 14, 2020

(photo credit: PRESIDENTIAL PRESS OFFICE/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)

Advertisement

The United States on Thursday added Turkey to a list of countries that are implicated in the use of child soldiers over the past year, placing a NATO ally for the first time in such a list, in a move that is likely to further complicate the already fraught ties between Ankara and Washington.

The US State Department determined in its 2021 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) that Turkey was providing "tangible support" to the Sultan Murad division in Syria, a faction of Syrian opposition that Ankara has long, supported and a group that Washington said recruited and used child soldiers.

There was no immediate reaction from Turkey on the move.

In a briefing call with reporters, a senior State Department official also made a reference to the use of child soldiers in Libya, saying Washington was hoping to work with Ankara on the issue to address it.

"With respect to Turkey in particular…this is the first time a NATO member has been listed in the child soldier prevention act list," the State Department official said. "As a respected regional leader and member of NATO, Turkey has the opportunity to address this issue – the recruitment and use of child soldiers in Syria and Libya," she said.

Turkey has carried out three cross-border operations in Syria against the so-called Islamic State, as well as US-backed Kurdish militia and has frequently used factions of armed Syrian fighters on top of its own forces.

Some of these groups have been accused by human rights groups and the United Nations of indiscriminately attacking civilians and carrying out kidnappings and lootings. The United Nations had asked Ankara to rein in these Syrian rebels while Turkey rejected the allegations, calling them "baseless."

Turkey, through proxies and its own armed forces, has also been involved in the Libyan conflict. Ankara's support has helped the Tripoli-based government reverse a 14-month assault from eastern forces backed by Egypt and Russia.

Governments placed on this list are subject to restrictions, according to the State Department report, on certain security assistance and commercial licensing of military equipment, absent a presidential waiver.

It was not immediately clear whether any restrictions would automatically apply to Turkey and the move raised questions whether it could derail Ankara's ongoing negotiations with Washington on Turkey's bid to run Afghanistan's Kabul airport once US completes its pullout of its troops.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said the two things won't likely be linked. "When it comes to trafficking in persons, I would not want to link the report today with the constructive discussions we're engaging in with Turkey, in the context of Afghanistan or any other area of shared interest," he said in a briefing.

Turkey has offered to guard and run Hamid Karzai airport after NATO's withdrawal and has been holding talks with the United States on logistic and financial support for the mission.

The mission could be a potential area of cooperation between Ankara and its allies amid strained ties, as the security of the airport is crucial for the operation of diplomatic missions out of Afghanistan after the withdrawal.

To carry out this task, Ankara has sought various financial and operational support, and President Joe Biden, in a meeting last month with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan had said that U.S. support would be forthcoming, Biden's national security advisor Jake Sullivan had said.

Price described Turkey as a "very constructive and very helpful partner" when it comes to Afghanistan and added that Washington could have more to say on the implications.

"As you know there is a potential for waivers that would come down from the president but that will happen, if it does, in the coming months," he said.