Kerry seeks Turkish support against Islamic state
Ankara (AsiaNews) - US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Turkey to try to convince Ankara to provide military support against Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq and Syria. This comes a day after the United States and ten Arab nations agreed in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to fight Islamists. Turkey has refused to join the US in this mission, denying it the use of bases in southern Turkey.
Gulf States, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and the United States agreed to "do their share in the comprehensive fight" against the Islamic State. The various states also accepted to block foreigners trying to reach Syria or Iraq, stop funding for extremists, reject their ideology of hate and take part in rebuilding and rehabilitating communities brutalised by Islamist militants.
NATO member Turkey was also at the Jeddah meeting, but did not sign the communiqué. One reason for that is Turkey fears for the lives of nearly 50 Turkish hostages held by the militants, including staff from the consulate in Mosul.
On Wednesday, President Barack Obama vowed to "degrade and ultimately destroy the terrorist group known as ISIL", as well as ramp up "our military assistance to the Syrian opposition. For the first time, he explicitly authorised air strikes against terrorists in Syria, eliciting an official response from Syria as well as Russia.
Syria warned against US air strikes on its territory. "Any action of any kind without the consent of the Syrian government would be an attack on Syria," said National Reconciliation Minister Ali Haidar saying.
A Russian official echoed his words. "In the absence of an appropriate decision of the UN Security Council, such a step would become an act of aggression, a crude violation of the norms of international law," said Alexander Lukashevich, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry in Moscow.
The situation is likely to remain tense since Washington recognises the Syrian rebel army that is fighting against President Assad. At the same time, for some analysts, threats from the Syrian regime are overstated.
"They will huff and puff and complain, but militarily they cannot do anything," said Riad Kahwaji, head of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Affairs.
The regime now has little presence in the provinces under IS control - Raqa and Deir Ezzor - and is not in a position to engage in ground-to-air attacks on US forces.
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