World Bulletin/News Desk

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday there was no discrepancy between the United States and Turkey with regard to what Ankara "will or won't do" in the fight against ISIL insurgents.

Speaking at a news conference in Paris after talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Kerry insisted that Turkey was a "valued member" of the U.S.-led coalition against ISIL, which has taken over swathes of Iraq and Syria, and said Ankara would define its role "on its own timetable."

Kerry spoke after Turkey on Monday denied an assertion over the weekend by U.S. national security adviser Susan Rice that it had agreed to let American planes take off from its air bases to strike ISIL targets. Ankara said this matter was still under discussion.

Turkey did confirm, however, that it had agreed with Washington on the training of Syrian rebels.

"As far as I know there is no discrepancy with respect to what is going on," Kerry said when asked about Rice's comments over the weekend.

"Turkey obviously has a very important role to play in this process going forward," he said. "It certainly has allowed the use of certain facilities. We don't need to get into specifics except to say that I don't believe there is any discrepancy with regard to what they will or won't do."