Ricciardone warned over his recent statements

US Ambassador to Ankara Francis J. Ricciardone was at the Foreign Ministry on Thursday for a meeting during which he listened to complaints from Turkish authorities over his recent criticism of Turkey's record of freedom of speech, one of the problematic issues between the two countries. Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu expressed Ankara's discomfort with the recent events in an unprecedentedly long meeting with Ricciardone which lasted for two hours and 15 minutes. Although the meeting took place upon the request of the US embassy to thank Turkish officials over their efforts in the aftermath of last week's suicide bombing at the embassy, Ricciardone's recent statements and other top issues regarding cooperation against terrorism were brought to the agenda. "We have conveyed our unease with his statements. This is unacceptable, we told him. And we also expressed that this should not happen again," a diplomatic source said after the meeting.