By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON
The White House said Friday that it “looks forward” to Turkey’s effort to meet the threat posed by the Islamic State.
“We certainly welcome the partnership and alliance that we have with Turkey and look forward to their efforts to join with the international community to meet this threat,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said.
Earnest’s Pentagon counterpart, Rear Adm. John Kirby, said he “expects” that Turkey will become a partner in the effort.
“Our expectation is that Turkey, as a NATO ally, is going – just by virtue of her geography – is going to be a partner in this effort, and they indicated that they would be and that they want to be,” he said. “But it’s up to Turkish leaders and the Turkish people to determine how and when that is manifested.”
Still, Kirby said that he thought Turkey would contribute to the military campaign.
The comments follow Turkey’s refusal to sign the Jeddah Communiqué, which aimed at solidifying support to combat the threat posed by the Islamic State terror group. Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the U.S. are all signatories to the joint declaration.
“There is no doubt, and we have seen this both in private comments from Turkish officials but also in public comments from Turkish officials, that they are concerned, and rightly so, about the instability and violence that has been created by ISIL. This is obviously all occurring right on the doorstep of Turkey,” Earnest said.
The terror group, IS, has variously been known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, ISIL, and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, ISIS.
Led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the militant group has declared a caliphate that straddles parts of Syria and Iraq. A caliphate is an Islamic state ruled by a religious and political leader, known as a caliph, or successor to Muhammad.
U.S. President Barack Obama announced Wednesday a new strategy to combat the group, saying that a U.S.-led coalition would strike the group throughout the whole of Iraq, and into Syria, a step that the administration had previously been reluctant to take.
www.aa.com.tr/en
