U.S. Vice President prepares to visit Turkey

PanARMENIAN.Net - As U.S. Vice President Joe Biden prepares to leave for a trip to Turkey this weekend, White House officials insist that there is no tension between Biden and the country's president, The Hill reports.

Earlier this month, Biden claimed in a speech that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had admitted to him that Turkey had accidently aided Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (IS or ISIS) extremists while supporting foreign fighters looking to oust the Assad regime in Syria.

The White House said the vice president apologized to Erdoğan. But days later, Biden said he had not.

“There’s no need for reconciliation,” said a senior administration official who was speaking on background. “The relationship between the vice president and Erdoğan is in a good place.”

Turkey, which borders Syria and has been dealing for years with refugees fleeing violent clashes in that country, is part of the coalition the U.S. has built to fight ISIS. The Turkish government favors imposing a no-fly zone over Syria.

While the senior administration official said that while the no-fly zone was not “off the table” and discussions of the tactic will likely evolve, “at the moment we are not contemplating putting in place a no fly zone."

Before traveling to Turkey, the vice president will visit Morocco and Ukraine.

The trip to Ukraine comes as U.S. and European officials claim that they will increase pressure on Russia for its actions in the eastern part of the country.

A second senior administration official said that officials in the European Union and the administration are considering whether to turn their rhetoric into action.

“The question of an intensification of the sanctions is under discussion at this point,” said the official, noting that President Barack Obama met with EU leaders while at the G20 summit in Australia to discuss how to increase pressure on Russia and bolster Ukraine.

Biden will also discuss Ukraine’s transition to a new government with the newly-elected president and prime minister and chair in a round table on anti-corruption.

While in Morocco, Biden will address an entrepreneurship conference and meet with the country’s king to discuss the ISIS fight.