US Vice President Biden To Visit Turkey

US Vice President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit Turkey in mid November to meet with Turkish officials at a time when the two NATO allies' relationship is struggling about how to deal with the radical Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

The White House announced on Monday that Biden will travel to Morocco, Ukraine and Turkey during the week of Nov. 17.

In Morocco Biden will lead the US delegation to the fifth annual Global Entrepreneurship summit in Marrakesh. In Ukraine Biden will meet with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

The White House said the vice president during his visit to Turkey will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and representatives of nongovernmental organizations.

The US has been pushing Turkey to contribute more to the US-led coalition against ISIL. Ties between the US and Turkey have been strained, as the US is asking for more access to Turkey's İncirlik Air Base to launch military strikes against ISIL targets inside Syria.

On Monday, US Department of State spokesperson Jen Psaki said the US welcomes Turkish efforts to facilitate the crossing of Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga into Kobani, a town in Syria.

Last week, Turkey announced that it will help peshmerga cross into Kobani to help Kurdish forces defending the town against ISIL militants. Shortly before this announcement, the US military air-dropped weapons, ammunition and military supplies to the Kurdish forces in Kobani. Turkey considers the Democratic Union Party (PYD) forces in Kobani terrorists and Erdoğan has said it is unacceptable that the US administration is aiding the PYD, which has links with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The PKK is classified as a terrorist organization by the US, Turkey and the EU. But under US law, the PYD is not listed as a terrorist organization.

Psaki said: “We continue to work closely with Turkey and the Kurdish Regional Government [KRG] authorities on a sustainable way forward to support forces in Kobani, and over the longer term, efforts to degrade and defeat ISIL. I would refer you otherwise to Turkish authorities on this, but it's an ongoing effort and certainly we support the fact that they're open to and willing to facilitate it.”

She said the US supports the peshmerga crossing.

When asked if Turkey and the US will be able to overcome their disagreements, particularly on granting US-led coalition forces more access to the İncirlik Air Base, Psaki said Turkey continues to be an important partner and has increased its participation in the coalition efforts.

“They've indicated an openness with -- and helping to facilitate the peshmerga traveling through to Syria to help in Kobani. They have indicated an openness to doing more to support our military efforts there and to do more as it relates to taking on the ISIL message. So we are -- will continue to talk with them, and obviously this is going to be an ongoing effort and an ongoing discussion,” she said.

One expert who closely follows Turkish-American relations recently told Today's Zaman that Washington was fed up with Turkey's reluctance to provide help, especially while members of the Turkish government say things like, “The US can't do anything in the region without Turkey.” The expert, who wished to remain anonymous, said the aid to the PYD was delivered with the help of the KRG and has proven that the US, as a super power, can do things without Turkey's help in the region.

The New York Times published a cartoon on Tuesday showing President Erdoğan as a whirling dervish at the Turkey-Syria border between ISIL militants and US forces.

Turkey has prioritized the removal of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria rather than focusing on the immediate threat of ISIL. Turkish officials view the Assad regime as the main factor in the creation of an environment that enabled the emergence of radical groups such as ISIL. But the US and other Western countries have made clear that removing the Assad regime from power is not a priority.

(Cihan/Today's Zaman)