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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his frustration at the US and its fellow member nations in the coalition fighting against extremist group Islamic State (IS), lamenting on Wednesday that they didn’t respond to conditions set for by Turkey that allows it to play a larger role in coalition. The timing of his complaint seems especially curious, since US special envoy John Allen had visited Ankara unannounced for talks with Turkish officials.
Turkey prefers that the US to trains and equips most of the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) to battle against Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime and also wants t create a security zone along the Turkish border inside Syria.
Speaking to reporters before his trip to Africa, Erdogan at Ankara airport said that the coalition “had not made steps we asked them for”.
So far, Turkey has refused to be an active member in the global coalition against IS extremists. Turkey says that it wants a security zone and a no-fly zone to be imposed, and the US to adopt a strategy that will bring down the Assad regime before Turkey plays a greater part in the coalition.
Erdogan said that the “parties have not taken any decisive steps towards the train-and-equip plan for FSA fighters.
“From the no-fly zone to the safety zone, and training and equipping, all these steps have to be taken now. But the coalition forces haven’t taken the steps we asked them for or suggested to them”, he said.
He also signaled that Turkey will not change its position unless the conditions were fulfilled.
“Of course Turkey will maintain its stance until this process has been completed”, he added.
So far, Turkey’s only contribution to the coalition has been letting a contingent of Iraqi peshmerga Kurdish fighters through transit on Turkish soil on their way to fight IS extremists near the Syrian-Turkish border town Kobane.