Turkey attended the meeting but did not sign the final communique.
The NATO ally had been asked to secure its borders to prevent oil smuggling out of Iraq and Syria and keep foreign fighters from heading in. But Ankara has been reluctant to take a prominent role in the coalition, in part out of concern for the 49 Turkish citizens who were kidnapped from the Turkish consulate in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul when it was overrun by Islamic State fighters in June.
U.S. officials played down Turkey’s absence from the communique, noting that the Turkish government is still extremely concerned about the fate of its diplomats. A senior State Department official predicted the U.S. will continue to work with Turkey to repel the insurgents’ threat, and said Ankara is in a difficult position as it tries to protect the hostages. The official was not authorized to discuss the sensitive negotiations by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Squabbling among Washington’s allies in the region has complicated efforts to present a united front to beat back the militants.
Saudi Arabia, the Emirates and Egypt are at odds with Qatar and Turkey because of the latter two countries’ support for the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups in the region.
Egypt’s foreign minister, Sameh Shukri, emphasized that rift in his opening remarks, saying regional chaos is the result of a number of factors, including the tolerance of some in the region and the West for “so-called political Islam” – a clear dig at supporters of the Brotherhood.
American officials have voiced concerns too about the willingness of Kuwait and Qatar to crack down on private fundraising for extremist groups.
Saudi Arabia’s willingness to host the meeting is significant given the OPEC kingpin’s role as a political and economic heavyweight and its custodianship of Islam’s holiest sites.
Some Gulf states could in theory take an active role in helping with airstrikes, as the United Arab Emirates and Qatar did in the U.S.-led aerial campaign over Libya in 2011 that helped lead to the ouster of Moammar Gadhafi. Gulf nations could also assist with arms, training, intelligence and logistics.
A senior State Department official told reporters ahead of the Saudi meeting that Kerry would ask Mideast countries to encourage government-controlled media and members of the religious establishment to speak out against extremism.
Salman Shaikh, the director of the Brookings Doha Center in Qatar, said Thursday’s meeting was important because it signaled a U.S. reengagement in the region – something many Mideast allies feel has been lacking under the Obama administration.