Turkey seeks US aid; Pakistan, Hungary's role to keep troops in Afghanistan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said his country would need "diplomatic, logistic and financial assistance" from the United States if it were to maintain troops in Afghanistan to protect and run Kabul's international airport, following the withdrawal of other NATO troops.

Speaking to reporters on Monday at the end of a series of meetings with NATO leaders on the sidelines of the alliance summit, Erdogan also said Turkey was seeking Pakistan and Hungary's involvement in a new mission in Afghanistan following the departure of the US-led NATO force.

Turkey is reported to have offered to guard the airport as questions remain on how security will be assured along major transport routes and at the airport, which is the main gateway to Kabul.

READ MORE: Turkey offers to run Kabul airport after NATO's Afghan withdrawal

"If they don't want us to leave Afghanistan, if they want a (Turkish) support there, then the diplomatic, logistic and financial support that the United States will give us will of great importance," Erdogan said. 

Turkey, a majority Muslim nation which has close historic ties to Afghanistan, currently has some 500 soldiers in the war-torn country.

Erdogan-Biden meeting

Erdogan also said he held a constructive meeting with US President Joe Biden and invited him to visit Turkey. 

The two leaders have known each other for years, but it was their first face-to-face meeting as heads of state and came at a difficult time in the two NATO allies' relations.

On Afghanistan, Biden said: "There was a strong consensus in the room among the leaders ... on Afghanistan." 

"Our troops are coming home, but we agreed that our diplomatic, economic, humanitarian commitment with the Afghan people ... will endure."

READ MORE: Biden seeks to recommit US to NATO after tense Trump years