Deeming the partnership between the US and Turkey to be “extremely important” regarding Syria, unnamed senior officials from the US cited by Anatolia news agency on Friday said that the US was maintaining close contact with Turkey and the leaders in Europe as well as the Arab world with respect to the developments in Syria.
“We’ve consulted very closely with Turkey, which has increasingly ratcheted up its own pressure on the Assad regime,” a senior US official said, adding that the context of the lengthy phone conversation between US President Barack Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Aug. 11 was an example of the consultations between the countries.
Touching on Turkey’s long-standing relations with the Syrian regime, the same official explained that the US’s partnership with Turkey regarding Syria was very important and that the countries have been in close contact with each other on the Syrian issue for months.
“I think it’s particularly telling that the Turkish leadership has been so strong in its condemnation of the Syrian regime’s abuses of its own people; so strong in its determination to bring further pressure to bear against the Assad regime,” noted the official.
Another senior official cited by Anatolia also informed the agency that the phone conversation between Obama and Erdoğan was mostly regarding Syria, as the leaders discussed the next steps to be taken against the Assad regime, sharing their concerns about the use of violence against civilians and their hope that the legitimate demands of the Syrian people will be fulfilled.
“I think that the coordination and consultation has been constant and strong with Turkey that does play a very important role here. And we expect that that will continue to be the basis going forward given the direction of President Obama and Prime Minister Erdoğan to their respective governments,” the second official said and acknowledged that the leaders had come to an agreement for their teams to closely cooperate and consult on a near daily basis with regards to the developments in the Syrian uprising.
