U.S. President Barack Obama spoke by telephone on Jan. 3 with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to offer his condolences for those killed and wounded in an attack on an Istanbul nightclub on Jan. 1 for which the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has claimed responsibility, the White House said in a statement.
Obama also welcomed Turkey’s efforts to facilitate a nationwide ceasefire in Syria and a return to political negotiations between the Syrian government and the opposition, the statement said.