Erdogan walks back threat to expel Western diplomats

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday backed down from a threat he made two days ago to eject 10 diplomats from Western countries after they voiced support for activist Osman Kavala.

Kavala is a civil society leader and philanthropist who has been detained on charges of financing protests and involvement in an attempted coup in 2016.

Erdogan said the envoys had issued a new statement on the matter, which he said "shows they have taken a step back from the slander against our country."

"They will be more careful now," he added. 

Erdogan's change in attitude came after the United States and several other countries issued identical statements saying they respected a UN convention that says diplomats should not interfere in their host country's domestic affairs.

How did the diplomatic row start?

Last week, the Ankara embassies of the US, Germany, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden issued a joint call for Turkey to resolve Kavala's case.

The 64-year-old has been languishing in jail without a conviction for nearly four years. He is widely scene as a symbol of innocent political prisoners within Turkey, the number of which drastically increased after a failed coup attempt in 2016.

An irate Erdogan said that "the Turkish judiciary doesn't take orders from anyone, and is not under anyone's command." He accused the involved countries of trying to violate Turkey's sovereignty.

Over the weekend, he had threatened to expel all 10 diplomats. 

While he stepped back from taking such drastic action on Monday, a spokesman warned that "our government will not shy away from any further steps to show that we will never compromise our national sovereignty."

A 'victory' for Erdogan

DW correspondent Dorian Jones said that Erdogan was presenting the statements from Western powers as a "major diplomatic victory." 

Speaking at a Cabinet meeting, Erdogan evoked memories of the founder of the secular republic, Kemal Ataturk, and his defeat of foreign invading powers, saying that foreign powers were still threatening Turkey's independence.

Erdogan went on to say that this time, the threat is against the Turkish judiciary, Jones said. 

The Turkish president said he welcomed a statement by the ambassadors assuring that the remarks did not intend to interfere in Turkey's affairs. 

With Turkey's strategic importance in the region, major Western powers have possibly realized that they need to have diplomatic relations with Turkey, Jones said. 

Jones added that Erdogan might have been trying to use this diplomatic crisis to divert the public's attention from economic woes. 

"Now that the diplomatic issue has been resolved and is seen as a victory for Erdogan, tomorrow and the coming days' headlines will again expect to focus on the economic problems facing the country," Jones said. 
"And for the dissident philanthropist Kavala, few people expect him to be released anytime soon."  

fb, es/wmr (AFP, Reuters)