Ankara and Washington insist officially that there are no differences between them concerning the situation in Syria, in particular over the fight against the Islamic State (IS). All signs, however, indicate otherwise.

Tensions between the two have resurfaced over the question of US arms supplies to the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Syria to help it fight IS. Washington has air-dropped arms to the PYD despite disapproving grumblings from Ankara, which has been trying, to no apparent avail, to prevent this from happening because it considers the PYD to be a terrorist organization.

According to Western diplomats, remarks by Erdogan after some of the airdropped weapons apparently ended up in IS hands have fueled Washington’s anger toward Turkey. Erdogan told reporters Oct. 22, before flying to Latvia for an official visit, “The mistake can now be seen. Some of the weapons that they dropped from C-130s may have gone to the PYD, but who did some of it also go to? It went to IS, which has been broadcasting this for days over its website by opening and showing those cases.”

Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby had acknowledged to reporters during an Oct. 21 press briefing that one of the weapons bundles might have gone astray, but the bulk of them got into the right hands.