Turkey has named a former ambassador to the United States as special envoy to work on the normalization of ties with Armenia, Hurriyet Daily News reports.

"With the authorization of the president, our former Washington ambassador Serdar Kilic will be officially appointed as special envoy," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu said in televised comments on Wednesday, December 15.

Kilic was also previously Ankara’s envoy in Japan and Lebanon.

"God willing there will be a continuation of these (steps)," Cavusoglu told Turkish reporters.

Cavusoglu said earlier that Turkey and Armenia will mutually appoint special envoys to discuss steps to normalize ties. The statement was welcomed by the Armenian Foreign Ministry.