By Jomaa Younis and Rania Abu Shamala
ISTANBUL (AA) – Qatar said on Thursday that it facilitated the release of a US national who had been detained in Afghanistan.
In a statement, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said US citizen George Gleismann had arrived in Doha and will depart for his home country at a later time.
Gleisman, 65, is an aircraft mechanic working for the US company Delta Airlines.
In December 2022, he traveled to Afghanistan on an exploratory trip to learn about the country's cultural and historical landscape. However, he was detained by the Taliban on charges of "violating Afghan laws."
Qatari Minister of State Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al Khulaifi, for his part, hailed “the fruitful cooperation” demonstrated by both the Taliban government and the US, the state news agency QNA reported.
Qatar “consistently seeks to activate mediation efforts to find peaceful solutions to conflicts, disputes, and complex international issues, based on the principles of its foreign policy, which focuses on promoting a culture of dialogue as a strategic approach to strengthening security and stability at both the regional and international levels,” he said.
He described the Afghan government’s response to the Qatari mediation as “a gesture of goodwill that reflects its will to engage in dialogue and communication with the international community.”
This approach “deserves encouragement to establish mutual understanding and move forward in resolving all outstanding issues,” the Qatari state minister said.