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Türkiye’s U.N. envoy Sedat Önal will replace Hasan Murat Mercan as Ankara’s Ambassador to Washington, diplomatic sources said Wednesday.
Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmet Yıldız will take Önal’s seat as the permanent representative of Türkiye to the U.N.
Sources noted that Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced the appointments to the diplomats in a phone call.
Previously serving as Türkiye’s deputy foreign minister, Önal was appointed as Türkiye’s U.N. envoy last February. He has been serving in the Foreign Ministry since 1989 and has worked in many countries including Kuwait, Germany, the United States, Iran, Austria and Jordan.
Ties between the countries have long been strained by issues ranging from Türkiye’s purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense systems to U.S. support for the PKK terrorist group’s Syrian offshoot YPG, which occupies chunks of northern Syria close to the Turkish border. However, significant positive developments have recently taken place, as U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration finally approved the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Türkiye, ending years of sometimes tense negotiations after Ankara formally ratified Sweden’s membership in NATO last month.
