ISTANBUL: United States Vice President Joe Biden on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul in a bid to ease strains over the Syria crisis and persuade Turkey to step up its support for the coalition against Islamic State (IS) jihadists.

The trip to Istanbul by Biden, the highest ranking US official to visit Turkey since Erdogan was elected president after over a decade as prime minister, came amid unusual tensions in the traditionally strong relationship between the two North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies.

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