LOC09:55
06:55 GMT
WASHINGTON, Feb 20 (KUNA) -- President Barack Obama and Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Erdogan discussed a range of bilateral and regional issues,
including the growing terrorism in Syria.
The two leaders discussed "the importance of close cooperation between our
the two countries to address the growing terrorist presence in Syria and on
the shared interest in continuing efforts to advance a political solution to
the Syria conflict," said the White House in a statement late on Wednesday.
"The President and Prime Minister discussed the importance of encouraging
Baghdad and Erbil to find common ground on energy issues and supporting the
agreement they achieve," the White House statement said.
The Erbil-headquartered Kurdistan Regional Government and the Iraqi central
government have been engaged in differences over various issues, such as
budget shares, oil proceeds and destiny of the self-styled Kurdish militia,
the Peshmergas.
Obama thanked Erdogan "for his constructive role in the effort on Cyprus to
renew negotiations for a settlement," it said.
Turkey historically has political influence on the Cypriot question, with
part of the island inhabited by Cypriots of Turkish origin.
The Turkish Prime Minister noted the launch ceremony for the Boeing 737
Peace Eagle on Friday, it said.
The US is arming the Turkish armed forces with the Peace Eagle Airborne
Early Warning and Control aircraft. Ankara relies heavily on the US for
purchasing weapons for its military forces.
Moreover, according to the official statement, the two leaders also spoke
about the importance of quickly concluding the normalization agreement with
Israel.
Washington has been encouraging Ankara and Tel Aviv to normalize their
ties, strained due to several issues namely an Israeli commando assault on a
Turkish-organized sea humanitarian mission that left several Turkish activists
dead in 2010.
Furthermore, Obama and Erdogan discussed "the need for strong, sustainable
and balanced growth in the global economy, and the President noted the
importance of sound policies rooted in the rule of law to reassure the
financial markets, nurture a predictable investment environment, strengthen
bilateral ties and benefit the future of Turkey," the statement said. (end)
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