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Lobbying 2015: Turkey resents America’s love story with the Kurds

The United States and Turkey are finding ways to work together in Syria and Iraq despite Washington’s growing concerns with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s authoritarian streak.

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People gesture while others wave Kurdish flags during a gathering celebrating Nowruz, which marks the arrival of spring and the new year, in Diyarbakir, March 21, 2015. Tens of thousands of Kurds gathered in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir to hear the message from Kurdistan Workers Party leader Abdullah Ocalan. — REUTERS/Umit Bektas

Turkey is engaged in a delicate diplomatic dance as it tries to convince the United States to abandon some of its best allies against the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS).

Ankara is earning kudos for finally allowing US warplanes to use Turkish air bases for bombing runs against IS after months of growing pressure. But President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also made it clear that he sees Kurdish militants as an existential threat that he is determined to take out.

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