Turkey’s envoy to the United States is returning to Washington after being recalled for consultations two weeks ago over a US decision to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, Reuters reported, citing an official at the Turkish foreign ministry.
Ambassador Serdar Kılıç was recalled to Ankara amid a dispute with Israel and Washington over the killing of scores of Palestinian protesters by Israeli forces on the Gaza border earlier this month.
Turkey has been one of the most vocal critics of Israel’s response to the Gaza protests and the US Embassy move, also recalling its ambassador from Tel Aviv and calling for an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, who will travel to Washington on June 4, said on Wednesday that Kılıç would return to make preparations for the visit.
Çavuşoğlu will meet with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during his visit, when the two will discuss a roadmap for northern Syria’s Manbij, which Turkey wants cleansed of the US-backed Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), considered a terrorist organization by Ankara.