On January 29, 2022, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople met with newly appointed US Ambassador to Turkey Jeff Flake. This was reported on the official website of the Church of Constantinople.
The Greek Ambassador Christodoulos Lazaris also visited the patriarch.
Flake took office on January 26 after presenting his credentials to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. One of his first steps as an ambassador, he made a visit to Istanbul to meet with the head of the Phanar, media say.
According to the press service of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the ambassador and Patriarch Bartholomew “discussed issues of mutual interest for a long time.”
The meeting was also attended by US Consul General in Istanbul Daria Darnell, the ambassador’s advisers, Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon and Metropolitan Macarius of Australia.