Trump aims to increase alliance between US, Türkiye: New US ambassador

ISTANBUL/ANKARA

US President Donald Trump’s goal is to raise the Turkish-US alliance to the level “it deserves,” the United States’ newly appointed ambassador to Türkiye said Monday.

“I come with a really simple message from President Trump…which is his desire to raise the level of the alliance from Türkiye and the United States to the level that it deserves,” Thomas Barrack told reporters at Esenboga Airport in the Turkish capital Ankara.

Expressing his honor at being in the land of his ancestors, Barrack added that Washington and Ankara have always had “a great relationship,” emphasizing the need for that relationship to become “extraordinary.”

“The president's goal is to elevate through the people, through both great leaderships of great nations, to find an accelerated peace and prosperity that make Türkiye and the United States greater and the world better,” he added.

The US Senate last week confirmed Barrack as ambassador to Türkiye in a 60-36 vote.

Barrack, a longtime friend of Trump and prominent businessman, will assume the post in Ankara at a time of evolving ties between the two countries.

During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last month, Barrack underscored Türkiye's strategic importance as a US ally.

Barrack, 78, was born and raised in Southern California. He holds degrees from the University of Southern California and the University of San Diego School of Law.

Known for his close ties to Trump, he chaired his 2017 inaugural committee and was a key advisor to his 2016 campaign.

In 2022, Barrack was acquitted of charges that he operated as an unregistered foreign agent for the United Arab Emirates during the first Trump administration and of providing false statements to the FBI.

He succeeds Ambassador Jeff Flake, who served from January 2022 to September 2024. The position had remained vacant since Flake’s departure.