US, Turkey mull strategy against Islamic militants
The Associated Press
- By LARA JAKES - AP National Security Writer
NKARA, Turkey (AP) — The United States on Friday pressed Turkey to harden its borders against fighters and funding flowing to the Islamic State militant group, and sought clarity on how far Ankara is willing to go to help a worldwide coalition destroy the insurgent threat. Turkey sits on the front line of the extremist group's battleground in Iraq and safe haven in Syria and already has assisted refugees and cracked down on suspicious cross-border traffic from both countries. But Turkey has resisted publicly endorsing a new global strategy to defeat the Islamic State, which has kidnapped 49 Turkish citizens, including some diplomats. At the start of a meeting with Secretary of State John Kerry, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu cited "challenges and threats" in Iraq and Syria. He did not mention the Islamic State by name and did not respond to a shouted question about why Turkey refused, a day earlier in Saudi Arabia, to join the U.S. with a coalition of Mideast nations that pledged to curb the extremists' resources, repudiate their ideology, provide humanitarian aid to its victims and potentially contribute to a military campaign. It was the third meeting so far this month between Kerry and Cavusoglu, who also together participated in talks during the annual NATO summit in Wales and this week in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, about the Islamic State threat. Kerry said the two men also will chair a counterterrorism forum at the United Nations General Assembly at the end of September. But the U.S. is being careful to not push Turkey too hard as it grapples with trying to free its hostages. The Turks were kidnapped from their consulate in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul when it was overrun by the Islamic State in June. For more go to:
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