Turkey, US Agree to Train and Arm Syrian Opposition

A senior Turkish diplomat said the Turkish and US positions on Syria are not yet 100 percent convergent, but US Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Turkey last week helped iron out critical differences of opinion.

"We are confident that our American allies are pleased with the progress of talks on Syria," the diplomat said. "We hope further meetings will produce more solid outcomes."

Observers say the main difference is the US's priority to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), while the Turks insist on a follow-up goal to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Turkey's regional nemesis.

According to an interim agreement, Turkish special forces will train fighters of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), a Syrian opposition group, while the US will provide equipment for the rebels.

A Turkish source said a total of 2,000 fighters will be trained and equipped. The source said training will take place at the Hirfanli gendarmerie training camp near Kirsehir in central Anatolia.

Meanwhile, Turkish military sources said that special forces also will launch a training program for the peshmerga fighters of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq. The peshmerga are expected to fight ISIS.

"There will be hundreds of soldiers in this training program," a military official said.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu visited a peshmerga military training camp in the district of Zakho, northern Iraq, on Nov. 21.

Davutoglu pledged Nov. 21 "all kinds of support" for the security of the Kurdish region in Iraq. He said: "The security of all of Iraq has vital importance for Turkey. Having a border with Turkey, the KRG's security is also important. Turkey will lend all kinds of support to the Kurdish region."

Turkey's participation in training the peshmerga comes in line with US-led coalition efforts to train Iraqi forces and Iraqi Kurdish fighters against ISIS militants in Iraq.

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