Joe Biden Presses for Expansion of Turkey’s Role in Fighting ISIS
- 8 years ago
The Obama administration is trying to broker a deal in coming weeks between Turkey and Iraq that would reduce rising tensions between the two countries over the presence of Turkish forces at a training camp in northern Iraq, senior administration officials said.
The initiatives, pushed by Vice President Joe Biden Saturday in more than seven hours of meetings with Turkish leaders, are designed to expand Ankara’s role in the fight against Islamic State in ways the U.S. has been seeking for more than a year.
“We are increasingly making progress, and I am confident that progress will be sped up as a consequence of our meeting today,” Mr. Biden said Saturday after meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
“Today we agreed to do even more.”
Baghdad views the Turkish forces in northern Iraq as infringing on its sovereignty, and Iraqi Prime Minister Abadi in recent days has demanded they all leave.
Turkey says the forces are there to train Sunni fighters to combat Islamic State.
The initiatives, pushed by Vice President Joe Biden Saturday in more than seven hours of meetings with Turkish leaders, are designed to expand Ankara’s role in the fight against Islamic State in ways the U.S. has been seeking for more than a year.
“We are increasingly making progress, and I am confident that progress will be sped up as a consequence of our meeting today,” Mr. Biden said Saturday after meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
“Today we agreed to do even more.”
Baghdad views the Turkish forces in northern Iraq as infringing on its sovereignty, and Iraqi Prime Minister Abadi in recent days has demanded they all leave.
Turkey says the forces are there to train Sunni fighters to combat Islamic State.