Biden taps former Republican senator for Turkey ambassador
US President Joe Biden has nominated former Republican Senator Jeff Flake as ambassador to Turkey, as Washington and Ankara push to de-escalate tensions following disagreements over various geopolitical issues.
Flake, a staunch critic of former President Donald Trump who endorsed Biden in the 2020 elections, confirmed the nomination in a blog post on Tuesday.
"Given the strategic importance of the United States’ relationship with our long-time NATO Ally, the Republic of Turkey, I am honored and humbled by the trust President Biden has placed in me with this ambassadorial nomination," Flake wrote.
"This is a pivotal post at an important time for both of our countries."
Flake had represented Arizona for 18 years in Congress, including six in the Senate, as a Republican, but he emerged as one of Trump's fiercest critics within the party.
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He opted against seeking reelection in 2018 amid his feud with the White House at the time.
In his final weeks in Congress, Flake clashed with Trump over the then-president's handling of the killing of Jamal Khashoggi at the hands of Saudi government agents at the kingdom's embassy in Istanbul.
"'Great allies' don't plot the murder of journalists, Mr President," Flake wrote on Twitter in November 2018 in response to Trump's defence of Riyadh.
"'Great allies' don't lure their own citizens into a trap, then kill them."
Despite having served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Flake's remarks on relations with Turkey are sparse.
In 2019, he gave a speech at Trinity College, in which he rebuked Trump for praising "the bad guys", including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russia's Vladimir Putin.
"All over the world the authoritarian impulse is resurgent, the bad guys are flexing their muscle, and they are being given encouragement by the leader of the free world," Flake said at the time, according to a transcript of the speech posted on his blog.
"Duterte is doing a 'great job,' says our President. He gives Erdogan 'very high marks.' Putin is 'a strong leader for his people.' And Kim Jong Un, whose country is itself a prison, is, according to our president, a guy with 'a great personality' who 'loves his people'."
Complex ties
Flake's nomination needs to be confirmed by the senate. It comes at a time of complex relations between Ankara and Washington.
Washington has angered Ankara with its military support for Kurdish groups in Syria that Turkey views as a threat to its national security.
Late last year, the US imposed sanctions on Turkey over its purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defence system. Turkey had also been ejected from the Nato-led F-35 programme to develop advanced fighter jets.
In April, the Biden administration irked Ankara when it recognised the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman forces during World War II as genocide.
Washington also denounced Erdogan personally in May and accused him of antisemitism over his criticism of Israel's latest offensive on Gaza.
But Biden and Erdogan pledged to work to improve the relationship during a meeting in Brussels last month.
"There is a strong will for the start of a new era in all areas, based on mutual respect and interest," Erdogan said after the meeting with the American president.
"There is no problem in Turkey-US relations that cannot be solved."
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