Davutoglu's wishful thinking
Remarks by Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu that US President Barack Obama is coming around to Ankara’s position on Syria are not supported by statements from Washington.
![Turkey's PM Davutoglu walks with U.S. Secretary of State Kerry at the prime minister's office in Ankara Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (R) walks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at the prime minister's office in Ankara September 12, 2014. Kerry met Turkish leaders on Friday to try to win support for U.S.-led military action against Islamic State, but Ankara's reluctance to play a frontline role showed the difficulty of building a coalition for a regional war. REUTERS/Brendan Smialowski/Pool (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR460SV](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2014/11/RTR460SV.jpg/RTR460SV.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=q4zvM8MG)
The Syrian crisis has turned into the bane of Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s life, defying all his predictions and plans for the region. In August 2012, when he was still foreign minister, he confidently announced during a television interview that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had only a few months to go, if not weeks. That prediction turned out to be woefully wrong, of course.
Davutoglu is maintaining that he received strong signals from President Barack Obama indicating that Washington was preparing to change tack on Syria, and to line up with Ankara’s position by making the Assad regime the priority target, while relegating the fight against the Islamic State (IS) to a secondary position.