Türkiye’s deputy foreign minister receives US ambassador

By Esra Tekin

ISTANBUL (AA) – Türkiye’s deputy foreign minister received the US ambassador on Monday

“Jeffry L. Flake, the Ambassador of the United States to Ankara, paid a courtesy call to Deputy Minister Burhanettin Duran,” said the Turkish Foreign Ministry on X.

They discussed various issues on the agendas of the two countries.

No additional information on the meeting was provided.

Flake is leaving his post on Sept. 1, nearly three years after his confirmation before the US Senate.

"He told Mission Türkiye that it has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as ambassador in Ankara, and he feels unbelievably fortunate to have strengthened the US-Türkiye strategic partnership at such a historic moment in the world," a spokesperson from the US Embassy in Ankara told Anadolu.

"He is deeply grateful for the relationships he has forged not only with government officials but with civil society, universities, the business community, and among ordinary citizens across Türkiye,” the spokesperson added.

Flake said on X that it “has been an honor to serve."

Flake began his tenure during a period of strained Turkish-US relations due to several disagreements, including US support for the YPG in Syria, which Ankara sees as an extension of the PKK terror group, and Türkiye’s purchase of Russia’s S-400 air defense system, which led to the country’s removal from the F-35 program and sanctions by Washington against Ankara.

The former senator representing the state of Arizona was confirmed by the Senate on Oct. 26, 2021 and began his post in Türkiye in January 2022.

Flake was a key Republican ally for US President Joe Biden during the 2020 White House race and endorsed the then-Democratic nominee after establishing himself as a Republican lawmaker who was long at odds with former President Donald Trump.