US president meets Turkish premier

US President Barack Obama met in New York last night with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the 66th session of the UN General Assembly. During the meeting, Obama offered condolences over a bomb blast in Ankara Tuesday which killed three people and injured at least 15. The two leaders discussed Syria and agreed on the need to increase pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. They also agreed to consult on possible further steps that could include sanctions, political pressure, other measures. Meanwhile, the US President underscored his interest in seeing a resolution for the crisis between Turkey and Israeli which resulted after the Israel’s 2010 killing of Turkish activists in a Gaza-bound aid convoy. Obama emphasized the need to calm tensions throughout the region. On Monday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Turkey not to do anything to worsen its relationship with Israel. Israeli-Turkish relations have spiraled downward in recent weeks with the release of a UN report on the 2010 flotilla raid, in which Israeli commandos raid killed nine Turkish activists, and Israel’s refusal to apologize to Ankara. Erdogan’s government has expelled Israel’s envoy, frozen military cooperation and warned that the Turkish navy could escort future aid flotillas raising the prospect of confrontation between Turkey and the Jewish state.