U.S. Ambassador in Ankara Jeff Flake met President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Presidential Complex on Wednesday. Erdoğan and Flake posed for a photo before their closed-to-press meeting in Ankara capital.
Flake, a former Arizona senator, was appointed ambassador in 2022. His tenure will end on Sept. 1.
His tenure began during a period of strained Turkish-U.S. relations due to several disagreements, including U.S. support for the YPG in Syria, which Ankara sees as an extension of the PKK terrorist group, and Türkiye's purchase of Russia's S-400 air defense system, which led to Türkiye's removal from the F-35 program and sanctions by Washington against Ankara.
The U.S. Congress' approval of the long-stalled sale of F-16 fighter jets to Türkiye in February, which came shortly after the Turkish Parliament ratified Sweden's NATO membership, has been seen as a positive development by both sides.
Flake wrote in an article for Deseret News that the approval of the sale of F-16 jets signaled "a commitment by both countries that a strong bilateral relationship is in our collective self-interest."
Earlier this month, he started his round of farewell visits in Türkiye and last met with Defense Minister Yaşar Güler on Tuesday.
