US Secretary of State John Kerry is to fly to Ankara on Friday for urgent talks after Turkey refused to allow a US-led coalition to use its air bases to attack jehadists in neighbouring Iraq and Syria.
“Turkey will not be involved in any armed operation but will entirely concentrate on humanitarian operations,” an official said on condition of anonymity. The decision echoes the country’s refusal to allow the US to station 60,000 troops in Turkey in 2003 to invade Iraq from the north, which triggered a crisis between the two allies.
