Relations with the US have not reached the low-point of 2003, when Turkey refused to allow US invasion troops to cross its territory into Iraq, but they are undoubtedly strained. As Idiz noted, this may be because “every coalition member has its own agenda and is looking to others to do something that will make a difference on the battlefield”.

Thus while Turkey’s parliament last week agreed to authorise Turkish troops to cross into Syria and Iraq, there is no imminent prospect of them doing so – even if Kobani falls – unless Turkey is directly attacked or the US changes tack dramatically.

Instead, Erdoğan repeated his demand that a buffer area and no-fly zone be set up inside Syria, a demand repeatedly rejected by the US in part because it might be exploited by Turkey’s armed forces to suppress local Kurds. On the other hand, some suggest the US, responding to Ankara’s sensitivities, is deliberately limiting air strikes around Kobani to prevent too great a Kurdish advantage – a dark twist that would give even Machiavelli a headache.

Erdoğan and Davutoğlu insist the coalition’s top priority should be the ousting of Assad, above the destruction of Isis, and that Turkey will only step up its engagement, including deploying troops, if there is a “comprehensive strategy” embracing this aim. If Assad remains, they argue, other extremist groups will simply fill the vacuum if and when Isis is vanquished.

Erdoğan, a tough and stubborn veteran of Istanbul street politics, is often categorised as a western ally. This is a misperception. He is first and foremost a Muslim believer and a nationalist. His vision of Turkey is of an emerging great power and regional leader, independent of the US, the EU and other power blocs. Hence his willingness, for example, to harshly criticise powerful pro-western neighbours such as Israel and Egypt.

Erdoğan’s threefold objective as the Isis crisis unfolds appears to be ensuring Turkey’s security, minimising political and territorial gains by the PKK and Kurds in Syria and Iraq, and advancing the Sunni Muslim cause across the region, primarily by ousting Assad. From these aims he is unlikely to be deflected, whatever Obama says and whatever Isis does.