US Vice-President Joe Biden on Sunday wrapped up a key visit to Turkey without a breakthrough on military cooperation in the Syrian crisis but with officials confident the talks brought their positions closer.During his three-day trip to Istanbul, Biden held several hours of talks with both Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on the crises created by the capture by ISIS militants of swathes of Iraq and Syria.
Washington has been frustrated by the relative lack of support offered by fellow Nato member Turkey for the US-led coalition against ISIS, which has taken towns in Syria right up to the Turkish border.
| Which should be a clue that perhaps the Turks have a different agenda than ours. But Champ, Dumbo Joe, and Jahwn Fricking Kerry can't seem to grasp that rather elementary concept. |
| That's actually a diplomatic phrase -- strong as it's ever been indeed... |
"We are in complete agreement that ISIS needs to be defeated," said the official. "We agree on the major objectives of the strategy."
But the official acknowledged the two sides still needed to work on their military cooperation in the crisis. This could include use of Turkey's Incirlik airbase — which Ankara so far has not let the United States use for bombing raids — if Turkey's conditions were satisfied, the official said.
Turkey's sole contribution so far to the military campaign has been allowing a contingent of Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighters to cross its territory on their way to join the fight against ISIS for the strategic Syrian border town of Kobani.
Turkey has repeatedly made clear that it will only increase its support for the coalition if a security zone, backed by a no-fly zone, is put in place inside Syria on the Turkish border and there is a coherent international strategy to topple President Bashar Al Assad.
| In other words, never... |
Biden, at his final Press conference with Erdogan on Saturday, tellingly emphasised that they had discussed a "transition" in Syria that does not include Assad.
The warm words by Biden and Erdogan about the state of relations appeared to signal an end to a spat that erupted when the US Vice-President suggested in a lecture that Turkey's policy on Syria had helped trigger the rise of the ISIS group. Erdogan, who is known for his quick temper and susceptibility to take offence, declared at the time that his relationship with Biden would be "history" had he said such a thing.
Turkey has also been angry that its contribution in hosting 1.6 million refugees from the Syrian conflict has gone relatively unrecognised.
Biden's office announced that the United States would provide an additional $135 million for humanitarian aid for Syria, some of which would go to refugees living in Turkey.