President Barack Obama met with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday to discuss a plan for dealing with the ongoing civil war in Syria. The two world leaders called for the ouster of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.
Turkey is an important ally in the Middle East for the U.S. and the two countries hope to work together in an effort to solve the problems in Syria. Prior to the trip, Erdogan had spoken about how the U.S. needs to step up and be more assertive in dealing with Syria in order to remove al-Assad, according to Bloomberg.
President Obama congratulated Turkey for being at the forefront in opposing al-Assad and Turkey will play a key role in coming weeks as attempts are made to allow for democratic Syria, according to Voice of America News.
"We both agree that Assad needs to go," Obama said. "He needs to transfer to a transitional body. That is the only way that we are going to resolve this crisis. We going to keep working for a Syria that is free from Assad's tyranny, that is intact and inclusive of all ethnic and religious groups and that is the source of stability not extremism, because it is in the profound interests of all our nations, including Turkey."
Erdogan agreed that the interests of Turkey and the U.S. overlap on Syria and that the two countries are in "full agreement" that Assad needs to be removed, chemical weapons must not be used in the conflict and that Syria cannot be allowed to become a den for extremists after Assad's removal, according to Voice of America News.
When Erdogan was asked directly what would happen in Syria if the U.S. does not step up their level of involvement, the Turkish P.M. sidestepped the question.
"You are talking about the part of the glass that is empty," Erdogan said. "I would like to look at things with the glass half full, instead of half empty. What we would like to see is the sensitivity on the part of the international community with respect to what is going on in Syria. This is what we as Turkey strive for and I do believe the United States is doing the same."
The Obama administration has been reluctant to provide a military response to the Syrian situation for fear that it will turn into a quagmire. Gary Samore, a former adviser on arms control for the president, explained the administration's reluctance.
"From the beginning, President Obama, it seems to me, has been determined to avoid another military entanglement in Syria," Samore said. "He thinks it would end up chewing up a huge amount of resources, and I think he questions whether, at the end of the day, U.S. military intervention would be positive in terms of stabilizing the situation."
