Kerry: US arms to Kurds a temporary measure

Secretary of State John Kerry is calling the U.S. supply of arms to besieged Syrian Kurds a temporary measure, and not a “shift in policy,” in an effort to reassure Turkey.

“We talked with Turkish authorities — I did, the president did — to make it very, very clear this is not a shift of policy by the United States,” Kerry said during a visit to Indonesia.

{mosads}”It is a crisis moment, an emergency where we clearly do not want to see Kobane become a horrible example of the unwillingness of people to be able to help those who are fighting ISIL,” he added, using an alternate name for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

The U.S. announced on Sunday that it dropped arms and other supplies to Kurds defending the Syrian city of Kobani, or Kobane, from ISIS militants. The town, which is only miles from the Turkish border, has become a flashpoint in the coalition’s fight against ISIS.

Kerry said he reassured Turkey of this temporary nature. Turkey has been wary of providing military aid to the Kurds because it has a long history of conflicts with Kurdish separatist groups in its own country. 

The secretary said he emphasized to Turkey the role Iraqi Kurdish fighters, known as the Peshmerga, could play, over the limited U.S. arms supplies. Turkey announced on Monday that it will allow the Peshmerga to travel through Turkey to join the fight in Syria. 

“Our hope is that, indeed, Kurds who have proven themselves to be very strong and valiant fighters will take this fight on, and it won’t be necessary for us to have this kind of delicate reach, if you will, in terms of people’s different interests,” Kerry said.

Kerry also spoke in moral terms of the need to defend the city of Kobani against ISIS. 

“It would be irresponsible of us, as well as morally very difficult, to turn your back on a community fighting ISIL, as hard as it is, at this particular moment,” Kerry said.