US changes spelling of Turkey at NATO ally’s request
The State Department said Thursday it has adopted Turkey’s preferred spelling for the name of the country, Turkiye, acceding to a request from the NATO ally after several months of hesitation.
The department has instructed that new official documents refer to Turkiye instead of Turkey, although the pronunciation will not change, officials said. But neither the State Department website nor the Foreign Affairs Manual, which guides US diplomatic practices, had been revised to reflect the change as of midday Thursday.
The move comes ahead of an expected visit to Washington later this month by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu during which Turkey’s position on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its resistance to allowing Finland and Sweden to join NATO will be high on the agenda.
Several other US federal agencies, including the Treasury Department, had already adopted the new spelling, which had led to inconsistencies in documents across the government.
The change was revealed as the State Department released a statement in support of a Treasury move to sanction several Turkey-related businessmen and companies for supporting the ISIS. It was later confirmed by two department officials.
Turkey asked last year for its name to be changed to Turkiye in international forums and most, including the United Nations and NATO, had switched to the new spelling.
The State Department, however, does not often change its style on the names of foreign countries and, in at least one notable case, has refused to do so for decades.
The US still refuses to refer to Burma as Myanmar although the country’s military rulers formally adopted Myanmar in 1989.
The last two countries that the State Department renamed following requests by their governments were North Macedonia, which changed its name from Macedonia in 2019, and Eswatini, which changed its name from Swaziland a year earlier.
The move comes ahead of an expected visit to Washington later this month by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu during which Turkey’s position on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its resistance to allowing Finland and Sweden to join NATO will be high on the agenda.
Several other US federal agencies, including the Treasury Department, had already adopted the new spelling, which had led to inconsistencies in documents across the government.
The change was revealed as the State Department released a statement in support of a Treasury move to sanction several Turkey-related businessmen and companies for supporting the ISIS. It was later confirmed by two department officials.
Turkey asked last year for its name to be changed to Turkiye in international forums and most, including the United Nations and NATO, had switched to the new spelling.
The State Department, however, does not often change its style on the names of foreign countries and, in at least one notable case, has refused to do so for decades.
The US still refuses to refer to Burma as Myanmar although the country’s military rulers formally adopted Myanmar in 1989.
The last two countries that the State Department renamed following requests by their governments were North Macedonia, which changed its name from Macedonia in 2019, and Eswatini, which changed its name from Swaziland a year earlier.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
