After Obama Meeting, Turkey's Erdogan Recalibrates Syria Policy
By Yigal Schleifer, on 29 May 2013, Briefing
Prior to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s mid-May visit to Washington, the expectation among many observers was that the Turkish leader would be coming to the White House to press a reluctant President Barack Obama to commit to supporting more forceful—that is, military—action against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. However, Erdogan’s trip played out quite differently. Rather than Erdogan convincing Obama to change positions, it was the U.S. president who got the normally strong-willed Turkish prime minister to soften his tone and publicly support the Geneva II process, Washington’s effort to convene an international conference next month on solving the conflict in Syria, which Erdogan had previously dismissed.
More:WPR Article | After Obama Meeting, Turkey's Erdogan Recalibrates Syria Policy