Baku-APA. Turkey's former intelligence chief Hakan Fidan has been reappointed to his post after he withdrew his nomination for the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party's candidacy in the upcoming general elections, APA reports quoting Anadolu Agency.
"Our Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has reassigned Hakan Fidan as Undersecretary of the Turkish National Intelligence Agency," government spokesman and Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said in a press conference after the Council of Ministers' meeting Monday evening.
Earlier in the day, Fidan announced that he was withdrawing his nomination for AK Party's candidacy in June general elections.
According to Prime Ministry sources, Fidan made his decision following consultations with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
He had resigned from his post as head of Turkey’s intelligence agency, or MIT, on Feb. 6, and the prime minister's office had said that he was expected to run in the June 7 elections.
However, Erdogan had remarked that he was not in favor of Fidan’s candidacy. "I do not have a favorable opinion of [Fidan's] candidacy, let me say that very clearly. I have also said this to Mr. Prime Minister before," the president said on Feb. 8.
The announcement coincided with the second cabinet meeting chaired by Erdogan at the new presidential palace in Ankara. The first such cabinet meeting with Erdogan at the head was held on Jan 19, 2015.
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