U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack says his comments were not meant ‘in a derogatory manner’ but admits they were ‘inappropriate.’

A U.S. diplomat apologized Thursday for using the word “animalistic” while calling for a gaggle of reporters to quiet down during a news conference in Lebanon earlier this week.

Tom Barrack, who is the U.S. ambassador to Turkey and envoy to Syria and has also been on a temporary assignment in Lebanon, said he didn’t intend to use the word “in a derogatory manner” but that his comments had been “inappropriate.”

Barrack visited Beirut along with a delegation of U.S. officials on Tuesday to discuss efforts by the Lebanese government to disarm the Hezbollah militant group and implementation of the ceasefire agreement that ended the

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