Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said Turkey and the U.S. "have made progress" on the use of the country’s Incirlik Air Base by American military jets.
"The U.S. planes have started to come; we will soon launch the comprehensive fight against Daesh," Cavusoglu told Anadolu Agency reporters in Malaysia on Wednesday, after holding talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.
When questioned on reports that fighters trained by the U.S. and Turkey had been detained by the al-Nusra Front militant group in Syria, Cavusoglu said the kidnappings showed the lack of ability of a sole train-and-equip program in the field.
A Pentagon official told Anadolu Agency on Tuesday that it had “indications” that members of the train-and-equip program were being held by the rebel group in Syria.
Since last week, reports from inside Syria have been claiming that al-Nusra disarmed and captured at least five fighters trained by the U.S. and coalition forces.
Cavusoglu said Daesh was the biggest threat in the region and had to be dealt with in strategy that is "result-oriented".
