The Nov. 11 joint statement by Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump that there can be no military solution in Syria and that all parties should participate in Geneva talks has unnerved Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The statement apparently is affecting Erdogan's calculations involving Syria's Kurds and Turkey's future role in Syria.

Erdogan expressed indignation about the US-Russia statement on the eve of his Nov. 14 meeting with Putin and said, “If there can be no military solution, then they should withdraw their soldiers. The world is not stupid. The central government killed nearly 1 million people. Turkey doesn’t have soldiers there. Let them withdraw their soldiers and look for political solutions. The US has five air bases in northern Syria. They are preparing one at Raqqa. They also have eight military bases — that makes 13. Russia has five bases. What about these facts?”

Erdogan traveled in this angry mood to Sochi on Nov. 13 to meet with Putin. In the joint press conference after their meeting, two leaders said progress has been made in de-confliction zones, as agreed to at Astana. But Erdogan was more conciliatory this time. “A basis has been laid that will allow us to focus on a political solution. We pay attention to the declaration made made in Vietnam by Putin and Trump.”