Obama urges Turkey, Russia to set aside tensions and focus on ISIL fight

President Barack Obama on Tuesday urged Turkey and Russia to set aside tensions over the downing of a Russian warplane and focus on the common priority of combating the threat from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

In a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the U.S. president vouched for the NATO ally's right to self-defense and pledged a solid U.S. commitment “to Turkey's security and its sovereignty.” Yet he emphasized the need for Turkey and Russia to “de-escalate” their conflict and not get distracted from the campaign against IS and efforts to resolve Syria's long-running civil war.

“We all have a common enemy. That is ISIL,” Obama said. “I want to make sure that we focus on that threat.”

Tensions between Ankara and Moscow have erupted into a diplomatic crisis since Turkey shot down a Russian jet it accused of violating its airspace less than two weeks ago. Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed Turkey shot the plane down to protect oil he says Turkey is illegally importing from ISIL — a charge Turkey vehemently denies. Turkey has insisted it won't apologize for downing the plane, which also led Russia to slap a package of new sanctions against Turkish products.

Erdogan has said he would be ready to quit office if allegations that Turkey traded oil with ISIL were proved.

“I will say something very strong here,” Erdogan was quoted as saying by the state-run Anadolu news agency at the UN climate talks near Paris, which Putin is also attending.

“If such a thing is proven, the nobility of our nation would require that I would not stay in office,” he said.

Challenging Putin, who has refused to meet Erdogan since the Nov. 24 incident in Yamadi, in Syria's Latakia province, Erdogan said: “And I tell Mr. Putin, ‘Would you stay in that office?’ I say this clearly.”

The spat between two countries seen as critical to resolving the Syria crisis has threatened to undermine Obama's efforts to expand the U.S.-led coalition. After ISIL claimed responsibility for the Paris attacks and shooting down a Russian passenger jet in Egypt, Obama had sought to turn the outrage across Europe into newfound resolve for stepping up the fight against ISIL.

Obama has been working to persuade Russia to focus its airstrikes in Syria against ISIL, instead of U.S.-backed rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar Assad. Further muddying the diplomatic picture, Moscow has steadfastly supported Assad while the U.S. and Turkey insist he must leave power as part of a political solution to Syria's civil war.

Sitting down with Erdogan in Paris on the sidelines of global climate talks, Obama said the U.S. was very interested in accelerating its military relationship with Turkey. He also praised Turkey for generously accepting refugees fleeing violence in Syria, and credited Turkey with strengthening security along its border.

Turkey, too, hopes to avoid tensions with Russia, Erdogan told reporters as he and Obama finished their roughly hour-long meeting. Pointing to a new diplomatic effort in Vienna aimed at a ceasefire in Syria's civil war, Erdogan waxed optimistic and said he was hoping it would result in a “sigh of relief for the entire region.” The U.S, Russia and Turkey are all taking part in those talks.

“As the coalition forces, we are determined to keep up the fight against ISIL, and ISIL forces on the ground,” Erdogan said through a translator.

Yet in a fresh reminder of strains with Moscow, Erdogan repeated his denouncement of Russian airstrikes in Syria's Turkmen region. He said more than 500 civilians had been killed recently in an area where he said ISIL fighters are not operating.

“They are Turkish descendants,” Erdogan said. “That area is continuously bombed.”

Al Jazeera and wire services