Turkey is moving closer to joining the United States and other regional partners in a coalition against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said Thursday.
Leaders in Ankara had initially resisted U.S. calls to join an effort against the group, partially due to 49 diplomats, family members and employees who were kidnapped from a Turkish consulate in Mosul, Iraq, in June. Those hostages were freed last weekend, and Power suggested the U.S. had seen a new willingness from the Turks to join the fight.
“I think so, certainly,” Power told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “I mean, the message to us this week is now, ‘We got our hostages. Talk to us. What are the requirements? How can we contribute?” “
Power said Turkey was also incentivized to join the fight because the country was becoming overwhelmed by refugees fleeing the terror network.
“They have more than a million people inside their border already. Hundreds of thousands more who could follow because of ISIL’s role in northern Syria,” Power said, using an alternative acronym for the group.
Vice President Biden will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Thursday afternoon on the sidelines of the U.N. meeting in New York, where he’s expected to push for a more concrete commitment.
A senior State Department official said Wednesday the administration was “in the midst of discussions about what Turkey may or may not want to do to contribute.”
Those discussions include the possibility of aiding in a U.S. effort to train and arm the moderate opposition in Syria, as well as an idea, floated by Erdoğan, to create a buffer zone on the Syria-Turkey border that would help process the flood of refugees and prevent the flow of foreign fighters to assist ISIS.
“I can’t say anything more about how those discussions will come out,” the State Department official said.