Alwaght- American Vice President Joe Biden visited Ankara to play down differences with Ahmet Davutoglu's government in fight against ISIS terrorist group.
But Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu made clear Ankara would keep pressing for a no-fly zone in Syria and President Bashar al-Assad's removal.
Turkey, a reluctant partner in the American-led coalition, has drawn criticism for letting thousands of foreign rebels cross its borders and for surprisingly doing little to end the ISIS siege of the Syrian border town of Kobani, a battle that has raged for months within sight of Turkish military positions.
Ankara claims that the coalition's air strikes in Iraq and Syria are not enough and it has pushed for a more comprehensive strategy involving Assad's departure and the creation of a buffer zone inside Syria .
Indeed turkey only seeks to achieve its goal, that is President Bashar al-Assad's removal. Speaking just before Biden's arrival in Istanbul, Davutoglu, who has spent the last two days in Iraq, said there could be no sustainable peace in Syria while President Assad remained in power .
"Look at how things are getting better in Iraq after a government chosen by the people is in place," he told reporters at Istanbul airport . Davutoglu's words imply that there has not been a democratic elected government in Iraq before Haidar al-Abadi. On the other hand, terrorist are committing same crimes in Syria as they are committing in Iraq.
