Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Their goals, while overlapping in some ways, are far different in others, mainly on the question of how to handle Kurdish militants battling Islamic State fighters in Syria. And that's the problem.

Erdogan did not elaborate on details of the agreement, which U.S. and Turkish officials had said Erdogan had made in a telephone conversation earlier this week with President Barak Obama.

Confirmation came hours after Turkish warplanes struck Islamic State group targets across the border in Syria on Friday.