Erdogan not backing down on US support for Syrian Kurds

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed the Obama administration’s support for Syrian Kurdish rebels battling the Islamic State during a visit to Washington last week.

Erdogan met with US President Barack Obama on the margins of the Nuclear Security Summit on March 31, after having been previously rebuffed in his request for a private meeting. US Vice President Joe Biden, in a separate meeting with Erdogan, “reiterated that the United States considers the PKK [Turkey's Kurdistan Workers Party] a designated foreign terrorist organization, and the two leaders pledged to deepen cooperation in the fight against all forms of terrorism, including the PKK.” 

The Turkish president made his case against the Obama administration’s Syria policies at other forums around the US capital, including a dinner hosted by the Turkey-US Business Council for think tankers and former US officials, as well as at events at the Brookings Institution, the Atlantic Council and in a meeting with American Jewish leaders.