An expert on Turkey, Jeffrey is a career diplomat who had served in Turkey three times in the past before being posted to Ankara as ambassador in December 2008. He was recently nominated as the new US envoy to Iraq and is expected to leave Ankara in the next few weeks. He will replace Christopher Hill, who began serving as ambassador in Baghdad in April 2009.
Jeffrey, fluent in Turkish, chose a Turkish title for his message released on Friday: “Görüşmek üzere Türkiye!” (“Until we meet again, Turkey” in English).
“When my wife Gudrun and I first became involved with Turkey 28 years ago, Turkey was a very important country on the road to development. But today, our NATO ally Turkey is one of the most advanced global leaders. To paraphrase President Obama, we see Turkey as a country of huge strategic importance that has always been at the crossroads of East and West. Its economy is growing significantly and as a democracy and a predominantly Muslim country, it plays a critical role in the region. We are all proud of Turkey’s accomplishments and know that US-Turkey relations are much broader, much more important, and much deeper than most international relationships today,” Jeffrey said, referring to his three assignments in Turkey before becoming ambassador in December 2008.
Arguing that Americans and Turks share a similar spirit since they both won their struggles for independence and chose democracy as the form of government for their new nations, Jeffrey highlighted that both Ankara and Washington should keep this spirit in mind as the two allies face many threats in these difficult and dangerous times.
“As I depart Turkey for the last time, I am pleased to have had an opportunity to make a contribution for stability and peace in this region. I’ve had an exciting two years as the US Ambassador and I thank all the people of Turkey who have opened their homes and their hearts to us during this time and over the course of our four postings to Turkey. I urge you to show the same warmth to my successor,” said Jeffrey, who will be replaced by Deputy US Ambassador to Afghanistan Francis Ricciardone, Jr., upon receiving confirmation from the Senate.
“A journalist recently asked me what my message might be to the Turkish people as I leave this country. My answer was simple: don’t worry about Turkey. It is one of the great winners of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. My advice is to build on that foundation and continue to embrace the outside world. Görüşmek Üzere!” he concluded his message.
