In just this last month, Turkey has offered to run the airport in Kabul known as the Hamad Karzai Airport, and is the main point of entry and exit in Afghanistan. Since Afghanistan is a landlocked country, this is huge for determining who will be able to leave and who are not able to. This offer came just right after the U.S decided to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan. As the Americans leave Afghanistan, the security soon quickly begins to evaporate as the Afghan government is facing an unpredictable Taliban. Many questions are raised on what Turkey´s intentions are, as they are the largest Muslim-majority country in NATO today.
Turkey is the closest ally to the Taliban that is in NATO, and has become a key negotiator in Afghan-Taliban relations. Turkey has over 500 troops deployed in Afghanistan that are in charge of non-combat operations and are posted at the Hamad Karzai Airport. The Taliban has warned Turkey not to keep its troops in Afghanistan, but Turkey decided not to do so. This is an example of Turkey´s desire to expand its influence in the Middle East, and has been their plan for a while now. They influence many of these Islamic countries through education and media. They want to try and keep positive public opinion of Turkey by maintaining relations with multiple allies, even if they are in conflict with each other. Turkey also has an important role in Afghanistan to not only maintain ties with them, but mend relations with the UN and U.S and show they are on their side.
Turkey expresses its own self interest by having influence in Afghanistan through soft power of media and projects. This is a way to keep up relations with Afghanistan while balancing relations with the enemy of the Taliban. They subtly support both sides and do things to keep them on their good side. Turkey´s self interest also impact the way they conduct business with their allies by playing all sides essentially.