American media, quoting Laura Loomer, a conservative activist close to US President Donald Trump, circulated information about the summoning of the US ambassador to Turkey and the special envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, to Washington this week to hold “consultations,” amid controversy sparked by his recent statements regarding the Syrian Golan.
Loomer said, in a post on the “X” platform, that Barak’s summoning came after what she described as a crisis sparked by his statements during a media interview, accusing him of causing tension between Israel, Turkey, and Syria.
Loomer claimed, citing an unnamed source in the US State Department, that there is a desire within the ministry for Barak not to return to his position in Turkey, adding that the administration may be moving to take steps against him.
So far, there has been no official confirmation from the US State Department regarding Barak’s summons or the existence of a decision not to return to Ankara. The nature or duration of the “consultations” that Loomer spoke about was also not clear.
Barak had sparked widespread controversy after statements he made on Friday during an interview with journalist Mario Nouval, in which he said that Israel “is still occupying the Syrian Golan,” and that the status of the region contradicts United Nations resolutions and international rules related to them.
These statements sparked criticism in Israel and the United States, especially since they seemed to conflict with the American policy approved by President Donald Trump in 2019, when Washington recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
In the wake of the criticism, Barak returned and clarified his position, stressing that his speech was a description of the historical situation of the Golan, and not an announcement of a change in American policy, and stressed that the United States policy towards the region was determined by Trump in 2019 and has not changed.
Under the US decision issued in 2019, the Trump administration recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, in a move that violated a decades-old US policy. Israel seized the Syrian Golan during the 1967 war and announced its annexation in 1981, while the United Nations and most of the international community do not recognize this annexation.
Barak’s controversial statements were not limited to the Golan file, as he spoke in the same interview about the Israeli strike that targeted the Abu al-Duhur base in Syria. He said that one possibility is that Israel tried to “luring” Turkey into a military response, at a time when the planes of both sides were almost approaching a direct confrontation.
Other statements by Barak regarding the negotiations between Lebanon and Israel also sparked controversy, before he returned and clarified that he was not proposing to involve Iran or Hezbollah at the negotiating table, but rather he was explaining the complexities of the file related to the sources of financing and arming the party.
Loomer had previously attacked Barak and called on him to resign, criticizing what she considered to be the incompatibility of his positions with the foreign policy of the Trump administration. Her criticism was renewed after his recent statements regarding the Golan and regional tensions.
What is said about the possibility of Barak not returning to Türkiye remains officially unconfirmed yet, pending any position from the US State Department or the White House regarding his diplomatic status and his upcoming missions.
