No immediate reports on the reason for the resignation were available by Wednesday evening.
According to the statement, Ambassador Şensoy presented his letter of resignation to Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu on Dec. 8. The foreign minister in turn confirmed the ambassador's resignation and is expected to appoint him to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ankara. The ministry, seeking to reduce speculation over the issue, said in a statement that Şensoy, having served as the Turkish ambassador to the US since January 2006, would have retired by mid 2010.
There was also speculation that there was a brief quarrel between him and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan over the format of a meeting between the prime minister and US President Barack Obama, leading the ambassador to resign. The statement also said that a new ambassador to the US will soon be appointed.
