Secretary of State John Kerry said the attempted military coup in Turkey will not impact the U.S.-led fight against Islamic State militants in neighboring Syria.
“I talked three times yesterday with the prime minister of Turkey. They assured me there would be no interruption of our counter-ISIL efforts,” Kerry told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday. “They have absolutely assured us of their commitment to the fight against Daesh.”
Kerry also noted that the Turkish foreign minister will join leaders from 45 other countries at a major summit in Washington next week to discuss counterterrorism strategies and the Islamic State.
“I expect that [Turkish military] operations will get back to normal very quickly,” he said, adding that the coup may have created “a minor delay here or there but it has not affected the fundamental direction or commitment to the fight.”
Around 200 Turkish citizens were killed in the failed military coup, which began Friday evening in the capital, Ankara, and Istanbul. Thousands of soldiers have since been arrested and Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has said those involved “will pay a heavy price.”
