John Kerry In Turkey For Talks On Israel And Syria

US Secretary of State John Kerry has arrived in Turkey, where he will hold talks expected to address relations with Israel and the conflict in Syria.

After helping broker a reconciliation between Turkey and Israel, Mr Kerry will urge them to “fully normalise” relations, US officials said.

He will also stress the importance of Turkey keeping its border open to those fleeing the war in Syria, they said.

Turkey is Mr Kerry’s first stop of a 10-day trip to Europe and Asia.

He is due to meet Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

His visit comes some two weeks after US President Barack Obama engineered a rapprochement between Israel and Turkey by securing an Israeli apology over the killing of nine Turks on an aid ship bound for the Gaza Strip in 2010.

The deal included compensation for the families of those who died, and both countries restoring ambassadors to their posts.

Officials travelling with Mr Kerry said he would “encourage Turkey to expeditiously implement its agreement with Israel and fully normalise their relationship” ahead of forthcoming talks between the two states.

Mr Kerry will also encourage Turkey to continue admitting civilians fleeing the conflict in Syria, following reports – denied by Turkey – that some Syrians had recently been deported after unrest at a border camp.

More than 1.2 million people have fled to neighbouring countries since the unrest in Syria began two years ago, according to UN figures.

More than 250,000 are in Turkey.

Both Turkey and the US oppose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, with Turkey holding that the West should do more to help the Syrian opposition.

After Turkey, Mr Kerry is due to visit Israel, the West Bank, the UK, South Korea, China and Japan.

The start of Mr Kerry’s trip was overshadowed by the death of five Americans in an attack in Afghanistan, including a foreign service officer whom Mr Kerry had met during a recent visit to Kabul.

BBC