Turkey’s ambassador returns to Luxembourg four months after withdrawal

ANKARA

Turkey’s ambassador to Luxembourg, Levent Şahinkaya, returned to his office more than four months after being withdrawn in protest of the Luxembourg parliament’s move to recognize the mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire in 1915 as genocide.

Last week, Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioğlu and Luxembourg’s foreign minister, Jean Asselborn, held a bilateral meeting in Luxembourg on the sidelines of the informal meeting of EU Foreign Ministers.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgiç, speaking with Anadolu Agency on Sept. 10, recalled that Asselborn acknowledged during a press conference following his meeting with Sinirlioğlu on Sept. 5 that relevant courts should deal with decisions concerning genocide, which has a certain definition in international law.

Asselborn also voiced willingness to have the Turkish ambassador back to his office as soon as possible, Bilgiç said, adding Şahinkaya restarted his work on Sept. 9.

Turkey condemned Luxembourg and withdrew its ambassador in reaction to the Luxembourg parliament’s resolution on May 6 to describe the 1915 incidents as genocide.