Newly appointed US Secretary of State John Kerry is expected in Ankara soon, a key stop on a nine-country tour, during which the main topic of his discussions will undoubtedly be Syria, even if Turkey and the United States have other issues to consider. Although the two countries have closely coordinated on Syria in the past, differences have started to emerge on how the crisis should end, a fact that will no doubt focus added attention on the talks Kerry has with his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutoglu.

Turkey has been watching US efforts to push for a negotiated settlement to the Syrian crisis with some concern. The government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan continues to believe that the Syrian opposition can prevail if it receives the necessary military support from the West. President Barack Obama, however, has refused to send arms to the opposition, despite strong recommendations to do so by the Pentagon, State Department, and the Central Intelligence Agency.

Differences between Ankara and Washington have also emerged as to who among the opposition groups should be supported.The United States is clearly shying away from radical Islamist groups, having branded one of the leading ones,  the al-Nusra Front, as a “terrorist organization with links to al-Qaeda.” Ankara, however, told the United States — during high-level talks in January in Washington between senior diplomats  — that it does not agree with the ban on the Sunni group, which it says is one of the most effective forces fighting the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Meanwhile al-Nusra leaders have given no indication that they are fighting for a democratic Syria, declaring instead that their aim is to install an Islamic regime once Assad is defeated. This position stands contrary to Ankara’s often expressed desire to see a democratic Syria emerge.

Kerry will also be arriving in Ankara against the backdrop of increased efforts by Washington and Moscow to resolve the crisis, which appears set to continue indefinitely. Syria itself does not have the capacity to arrive at a resolution on its own after two years of bloodshed that has thus far reportedly left up to 70,000 people dead.