The United States is refraining from criticizing NATO ally Turkey for its willingness to allow Sudan's president to attend a conference in Istanbul.State Department spokesman Ian Kelly says "it's really up to the government of Turkey" whether to allow indicted war criminal Omar al-Bashir to attend a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Conference. Al-Bashir reportedly plans to arrive Monday.
The Hague-based International Criminal Court issued a warrant against al-Bashir in March, accusing him of orchestrating atrocities.
Neither Turkey nor the United States is a state party to the court and are not legally bound to arrest al-Bashir.
Kelly says the United States "would expect Turkey to raise these kinds of issues" if it holds meetings with al-Bashir.