MESOP LATEST : Turkish PM Discusses Iraq-Syria Crisis With Obama

Anadolu Agency – 2014-11-16 04:08 GMT – Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu discussed the crisis in Syria and Iraq with U.S. President Barack Obama on Nov. 15, according to the Turkish Prime Ministry. On the sidelines of the ninth meeting of the 2014 G20 summit in Australia’s eastern coastal city of Brisbane, Davutoglu and Obama discussed the recent developments in Syria and Iraq in view of the threat from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.

Davutoglu had welcomed, in his Nov. 14 remarks in Brisbane, the media reports that Obama was asking his advisers to review their strategy Syria strategy. CNN reported on Nov. 13 that Obama had called for the review after realizing that the ISIL could not be defeated unless Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was toppled. The report was later denied by two high-ranking officials of the U.S. administration.

The Turkish premier stressed that Turkey has long argued that an integrated strategy was needed to solve the Syrian crisis rather than a “point and selective strategy” like the airstrikes being conducted by the U.S.-led coalition in the Syrian town of Kobane, and throughout Syria and Iraq. The U.S.-led international coalition, which includes France, Germany, and Saudi Arabia, has been pounding ISIL targets in Iraq and Syria.