US Secretary of State John Kerry paid a visit to Ankara Friday to urge Turkey to contribute more to a US-led coalition for fighting militants of the Islamic State (IS) Sunni extremist group in Iraq and Syria.
Kerry held talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and will meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutogluin in the capital Ankara later in the day, Xinhua reported.
Turkey and the US will continue talks for support to the Iraqi government on the issue, Kerry said at a joint press conference with Cavusoglu ahead of their meeting.
The two countries will co-chair a forum on fighting terrorism during the upcoming UN General Assembly meeting, he added.
As he arrived in Ankara, Kerry announced that his country would provide an additional $500 million in humanitarian aid to victims of the war in Syria, and pledged an aid package including more than $250 million "to assist refugees and host communities in the neighbouring countries affected by Syria's civil war".
Kerry's visit to Ankara comes a day after Turkey refused to sign a final communique by Arab allies of the US promising to join military action against the IS.
New Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu, who represented Turkey in Jeddah, cited Turkish hostages held by the IS and did not sign the statement.
Turkey is reluctant to take part in combat operations against the IS and refuses to allow a US-led coalition to attack jihadis using its territory due to 49 Turkish hostages, including diplomats and children, who were abducted from the Turkish consulate in Mosul in Iraq in June by IS militants.
