Turkey says its long-closed Damascus embassy will reopen on Saturday, with its new interim envoy and staff already dispatched to Syria earlier in the day.
The new charge d’affaires, Burhan Koroglu, and his staff “left today, the embassy will be operational tomorrow,” Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan tells NTV private television.
Earlier this week, Fidan had said Ankara would reopen its embassy when the conditions were right, just days after a lightning rebel offensive overthrew Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad.
Koroglu was appointed to the temporary post on Thursday, state news agency Anadolu said, quoting foreign ministry sources who did not say when he would begin the job.
The Damascus embassy closed on March 26, 2012, a year after Syria’s civil war began, due to the deteriorating security situation amid calls by the Turkish government for Assad to step down.
Koroglu was appointed as Turkey’s ambassador to Nouakchott, Mauritania, exactly a year ago.
It is not immediately clear how long he would hold the post in Damascus.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Friday, December 13, 2024
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
