Trump to nominate Satterfield ambassador to Turkey

David Satterfield has been the acting assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs since 2017 and has also previously served as the deputy US chief of mission in Iraq, ambassador to Lebanon.

David Satterfield has been the acting US assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs since 2017. He has previously served as the deputy U.S. chief of mission in Iraq, ambassador to Lebanon, director for Near Eastern affairs on the National Security Council, as well as in Syria, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia.
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David Satterfield has been the acting US assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs since 2017. He has previously served as the deputy U.S. chief of mission in Iraq, ambassador to Lebanon, director for Near Eastern affairs on the National Security Council, as well as in Syria, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia.

US President Donald Trump intends to nominate David Satterfield, a veteran diplomat with deep experience in the Middle East, to be US ambassador to Turkey, the White House said on Friday.

Satterfield has been the acting assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs since 2017.

"Previously, Ambassador Satterfield served as the Director General of the Multinational Force and Observers in Rome, Italy from 2014 to 2017 and 2009 to 2013," the White House said in a statement.

His appointment is not yet official as he must be confirmed by the Senate.

He also has served as the deputy US chief of mission in Iraq, ambassador to Lebanon, director for Near Eastern affairs on the National Security Council, as well as in Syria, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia.

John Bass was the last serving American ambassador to Ankara from 2014 to 2017.

Bass, who is assuming the office of the US ambassador to Afghanistan, left Turkey in October 2017 amid a visa crisis between Washington and Ankara. The post has been empty since then.

Turkey, a Muslim-majority NATO ally, borders Syria, Iraq and Iran and is a major player in the region.

The future of northeastern Syria following Trump's announcement of a US pullout, the fallout from the murder of a Saudi journalist in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, and Turkey's demand for the extradition of Fetullah Gulen from the United States are among the main issues in the two countries' relations.

Gulen has been living in self-imposed exile in the US since the late 1990s and he along with his FETO network carried out the deadly July 15 coup attempt in Turkey which claimed more than 250 lives and injured more than 2,000 people.

President Trump said in November that he was not considering extraditing Gulen.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had welcomed Trump's decision in December to withdraw American troops from Syria. Washington has backed YPG in its fight against Daesh in Syria.

The YPG/PYD is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK terrorist group that has been waging a deadly armed campaign against the Turkish state for more than three decades, claiming more than 40,000 lives.

Turkey, the US and the UK recognise the PKK as a terrorist organisation.

Erdogan said in November Turkey would not abide by renewed US sanctions on Iran's oil and shipping industries because they were aimed at "unbalancing the world."

Trump and Erdogan have also taken different tacks in their response to the October 2 killing of US-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Trump has said he wants Washington to stand by the Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, despite a CIA assessment it was likely the prince had ordered the killing. Saudi Arabia has said the prince had no prior knowledge of the murder.

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