Ambassador Hakki Akil was appointed as Turkey's representative in Paris in 2014 after three years in Rome. A career diplomat and former G-20 sherpa for Turkey from 2009 to 2011, he also served as Ankara’s ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (2008-2009) and in Turkmenistan (2005-2008). Akil has worked on many issues, most notably on trade as deputy permanent representative of Turkey to the World Trade Organization in Geneva between 1996 and 2000, and on energy as chief of the energy department and then deputy director general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ankara, and as an active member of the energy charter.

Akil is now based in Paris for the third time. He was previously consul general, studied at the Ecole Nationale d’Administration and returned as political counselor at the embassy. He also once studied in Bordeaux.

With such a diverse background, Akil is one of the top diplomats of the Republic of Turkey. In an email interview with Al-Monitor, he addressed his country’s perspective of the current situation in Middle East as one of the major actors in the region.

The text of the interview follows: