Azernews.Az

ANKARA – The US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations has confirmed President Barack Obama's nominee Francis Ricciardone as the country's ambassador to Turkey, Todays Zaman reported.

The confirmation by the 19-member committee on Tuesday came with a majority vote, while three members voted against Ricciardone's nomination.

Obama bypassed the Senate in December 2010 to appoint Ricciardone to Turkey. Ricciardone can serve without Senate confirmation until the end of the current session of Congress.

Ricciardone's nomination will now go to the full Senate for confirmation. In order to be able to serve as an ambassador in Turkey for the usual period following his one year of temporary service, Ricciardone's confirmation needs to be approved by the full Senate.

The reason for objection by the three senators to Ricciardone -- namely Robert Menendez (Democrat, New Jersey), Barbara Boxer (Democrat, California) and Jim Risch (Republican, Idaho) -- was Ricciardone's remarks suggesting that most of the Christian churches in Turkey functioning prior to 1915 were still operating as churches.

The votes cast by these three senators against Ricciardone do not necessarily mean that they will also try to block his confirmation at the full Senate, the Anatolia news agency reported, suggesting that the senators might have solely wished that their objections be on the record.