| In early August, after returning from an official visit to Indonesia, Erdoğan told reporters that he might have talks with Obama in September as part of a visit to New York to attend the UN General Assembly and that if he did not have the opportunity to attend the meeting, he may pay a visit to Washington in August.
Erdoğan's request for a meeting was sent to the White House by the Turkish Foreign Ministry but US officials said Obama had a tight schedule preventing him from meeting with Erdoğan. The White House added that the leaders could meet during the G20 summit to be held in mid-November in Antalya.
After Obama's refusal to arrange an appointment with Erdoğan, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu is expected to attend the UN General Assembly in September instead of Erdoğan.
The last meeting between Erdoğan and Obama was in May 2013, during which the leaders stated that both countries had agreed that the Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad must leave power.
However, due to recent discord between the US and Turkey on issues related to the Middle East, such as the US' frustration with Turkey's reticence to take active part in the US-led coalition to fight ISIL, there has not been a visit between the countries at the presidential level since May 2013.
Obama also openly criticized the Turkish authorities in an unprecedented move in June for failing to ramp up the capacity Ankara needs to prevent foreign fighters from crossing the Turkish-Syria border to join ISIL.
After a year of diplomatic wrangling, Turkey granted the US permission to use its southern air bases, including the mammoth İncirlik Air Base, for strikes against ISIL in northern Syria. The US transferred some of its fighter jets from Germany to İncirlik and have begun sending out unmanned aerial vehicles.
It also struck ISIL positions in Syria with its fighter jets departing from the İnclirlik Air Base. While the air base deal was hailed and welcomed as a “game-changer” by experts due to the air base's close proximity to Syria, the agreement is still riddled with ambiguity amid lingering points of contention between Turkey and the US.
Ankara and Washington agreed to clear a 98-kilometer long, 45-kilometer wide area of ISIL-held territory along the Turkish border. Ankara's desire for the creation of a de facto safe zone was met with caution by the US with Turkish officials failing to secure US backing. However, experts say the US air campaign would naturally lead to such a consequence: an area free of ISIL elements near the Turkish border.
The most recent criticism from the US came on Friday when US Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the US needs Ankara to step up its efforts to control its long border with Iraq and Syria.
Referring to Turkey's launching of an operation against ISIL following a suicide bomb attack in the border town of Suruç that claimed 33 lives, Carter stated that Ankara's participation in the bombing efforts against ISIL is “long overdue” because the campaign has been under way for over a year.
Carter said Turkey was “indicating some considerable effort now” regarding the campaign, adding that Turkey's choice to allow the US to use its air base was “important, but it's not enough.”
The divergent agenda and conflicting interests in Syria lay at the heart of discord between Ankara and Washington. The most elaborate and revealing point is their incongruent approach to the potent Kurdish militia, which has emerged as a reliable ally for the US on the ground in Syria against ISIL.
While the US places greater importance and hope on the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), Ankara views the strong cooperation between the two with suspicion, expressing concerns over the formation of a Kurdish political zone in northern Syria to American officials.
The US has, on numerous occasions, said that it has never supported the Kurdish aspirations for an autonomous region or territorial change, a bid to alleviate the concerns of its NATO ally, which fears Syrian Kurds' drive to independence may fuel separatist sentiments among its restive Kurdish population.
Another issue that divides allies is the future of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Damascus as Ankara presses for the removal of the Syrian president, while the US prioritizes fighting the most urgent and imminent threat -- ISIL. |