US Ambassador To Turkey To Leave For Atlantic Council

The Atlantic Council announced on Wednesday that US Ambassador to Turkey Francis J. Ricciardone has been appointed as vice president and director of its Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East. It said Ricciardone will join the council in September.

“At a crucial moment in the history of the Middle East, Ambassador Ricciardone brings to the Atlantic Council rich leadership experience from some of the world's most demanding places,” said Frederick Kempe, president and CEO of the Atlantic Council, in a statement released by the think tank.

Ricciardone previously served as ambassador to Egypt and to the Philippines and Palau. The statement said with nearly a decade of experience in Egypt and another in Turkey, added to his years in Iran and Afghanistan, Ricciardone brings broad perspective on the larger region's contemporary events and modern history.

The council said Ricciardone will support and speak at the Atlantic Council Energy and Economic Summit in İstanbul on Nov. 20-21.

Al-Monitor reported on Wednesday that State Department executive secretary John R. Bass, a former US ambassador to Georgia, is expected to be nominated to be the next US ambassador to Turkey, quoting unnamed US officials.

The report cited diplomatic sources who said his potential nomination has not yet been formally sent from the White House to Ankara for agreement.

According to the State Department's biography of him, Bass, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, led the Baghdad Provincial Reconstruction Team from 2008-2009. From 2005-2008, Bass served as Director of the State Department Operations Center. During his tenure, the Operations Center led State's response to over 25 crises, including coordinating international assistance in response to Hurricane Katrina and orchestrating the largest US government evacuation of American citizens in 60 years. From 2004-2005, Bass was a special advisor to Vice President Dick Cheney, offering advice on developments and policy in Europe and Eurasia. From 2002-2004, he served at Embassy Rome, coordinating engagement with the Italian government and civil society on human rights, immigration, trafficking-in-persons and labor market reform.

Prior assignments of Bass at the State Department include work on Turkey, Greek Cyprus, the Benelux countries and NATO-Russia negotiations. (Cihan/Today's Zaman)