Turkey’s ambassador to Vienna Kadri Ecvet Tezcan will be replaced in September by Ayse Sezgin, a former ambassador to Slovenia who is currently in charge of European affairs at the Turkish foreign ministry, a diplomatic source said Sunday, requesting anonymity.
The source stressed that the change did not indicate that Tezcan was being recalled, as had been demanded by several Austrian politicians.
The foreign ministry routinely nominates new ambassadors around the world in the summer.
Tezcan stirred up diplomatic tensions last November with his blunt critique of Austria's approach to integration and national attitudes towards Turkish immigrants.
"When Turks apply for housing in Vienna, they're always sent to the same neighbourhood. And yet, at the same time, they're accused of creating ghettos," he said in an interview with the newspaper Die Presse.
The Turkish community in Austria numbers around 112,150.
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