TURKISH ENVOY RESIGNS AFTER WASHINGTON SUMMIT
AZG DAILY
11-12-2009
International
Turkey was shocked by the surprise resignation of Turkish Ambassador
to Washington Nabi Å~^ensoy in the aftermath of Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan’s critical meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama
early this week, Turkish Hurriyet Daily reported.
"Our Ambassador to Washington, Mr. Nabi Å~^ensoy, requested to return
to his post in the Foreign Ministry. The request of the ambassador
was accepted by [Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu]," said a written
statement released by the ministry late Wednesday.
Behind the scenes, Å~^ensoy’s resignation reportedly came after an
argument with Davutoglu, who was offended because he was excluded from
the Erdogan-Obama meeting in the White House and accused Å~^ensoy
of not fulfilling the request from Ankara that Davutoglu be part of
the meeting.
"I don’t want to make a comment," Å~^ensoy said when asked by the
Dogan news agency why he had resigned.
Well-placed sources said Davutoglu had requested that the White
House meeting be in a four-way format known in diplomatic jargon as
"one plus one," which includes two countries’ leaders and foreign
ministers, and told the ambassador to convey that request to the U.S.
administration.
The meeting in Washington, however, did not take place in the
expected format. When the foreign ministers were excluded from the
tête-a-tête meeting between Obama and Erdogan, a battle of words
took place between Davutoglu and the ambassador. Davutoglu asked
Å~^ensoy why the meeting was not held in the four-way format,
noting that the meeting in Ankara during Obama’s first overseas
trip in April included the foreign ministers. Sources said Å~^ensoy
told the minister that the request could not be conveyed and said,
"You can dismiss me if you like," the Daily News has learned.
In the back corridors, there has been speculation that Å~^ensoy was
reluctant to stay on as ambassador in the one of the world’s leading
capitals after the tense dialogue with his minister and asked if he
could return to the Foreign Ministry.
Å~^ensoy had been serving in the United States since January 2006, and
his tenure as ambassador was set to expire in the first half of 2010.
The Foreign Ministry said a new ambassador would be appointed to the
Turkish Embassy in Washington in the coming days.
When asked about the resignation while in Mexico, Erdogan said only:
"Let’s hope for the best."