WASHINGTON: United States Vice-President Joe Biden yesterday apologised to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over comments suggesting that Ankara and other regional powers had financed and armed jihadist organisations in Syria.
Erdogan reacted furiously earlier at comments made by Biden at Harvard University on Thursday, in which Biden criticised allies in Turkey and the Arab world for supporting Sunni militant groups in Syria such as the Islamic State (IS) group and Al Qaeda-linked Al Nusra.
A statement from Biden’s office said the deputy US leader had called Erdogan to “clarify” his remarks. “The vice-president apologised for any implication that Turkey or other allies and partners in the region had intentionally supplied or facilitated the growth of ISIL or other violent extremists in Syria,” a summary of the phone call said.
Meanwhile, Kurdish fighters supported by US-led air strikes held back IS militants attacking a Syrian border town. IS also released a video showing the execution of Alan Henning, a 47-year-old British volunteer driver. A fellow aid worker from America, Peter Kassig, is also shown alive and threatened by the knife-wielding militant. AFP
