ANKARA: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turky has stepped back from his threat to expel 10 Western envoys over their joint statement of support for a jailed civil society leader.
The reversal came after the United States and several of the other concerned countries issued identical statements saying they respected a UN convention that required diplomats not to interfere in the host country s domestic affairs.
Erdogan met his ultra-nationalist ruling coaltion partner and then chaired an hours-long cabinet meeting at which his ministers reportedly advised him about the economic dangers of escalating tensions with some of Turkey’s closest allies and trading partners.
He concluded the meeting by victoriously announcing in televised comments that the 10 ambassadors had learnt their lesson and “will be more careful now”.
“Our intention is absolutely not to create a crisis but to protect our honor, our pride, our sovereign rights,” Erdogan said.
The new Western statement “shows they have taken a step back from the slander against our country”, Erdogan said.
The lira recovered from a historic low and was trading up almost half a percent against the dollar on relief that Turkey and the West had stepped back from the brink of the most serious diplomatic crisis of Erdogan’s 19-year rule.
Erdogan had originally threatened the ambassadors on Thursday and then doubled down — pronouncing the 10 envoys “persona non grata” — in televised comments on Saturday.
Diplomats said the expulsions would have been unprecedented in relations between fellow NATO member states.
Read more: Coronavirus Epidemic: Pakistan reports 9 deaths, lowest in about a year, 698 new cases
