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ANALYSIS
“The offensive on the city of Jarabulus began hours before Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. was set to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara to discuss tensions raised by the failed coup in Turkey last month. The joint operation in Syria seemed intended to send a message that the countries are still cooperating in the fight against the militant group,” Ceylan Yeginsu writes for the New York Times.
“With relations between Washington and Ankara at their most acrimonious in years, Mr Biden will publicly reassure Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the US authorities will examine as quickly as possible the extradition request for Fethullah Gulen, the Pennsylvania-based cleric who the Turkish president claims was behind the coup. At the same time, Mr Biden will privately express American concern at the sweeping crackdown of his opponents that Mr Erdogan has instigated since the coup attempt on July 15,” Geoff Dyer and Mehul Srivastava write for the Financial Times.
“These days, however, the U.S. and Turkey see eye to eye on very little. The two countries are at odds over Syria and the urgency of removing Syrian President Bashar Assad; over support for Syrian Kurds who, in contrast to the Turks, have proved to be reliable U.S. partners in the fight against Islamic State; over the territorial sovereignty of Iraq; and over continuing sanctions on Iran. Though American officials privately acknowledge that Mr. Erdogan is ‘erratic,’ they have given the Turkish leader extraordinary leverage over U.S. policy,” CFR’s Steven A. Cook and Michael J. Koplow write for the Wall Street Journal.
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