Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan rowed back on Monday from his threat to expel 10 Western envoys over their joint statement of support for a jailed civil society leader, IgbereTV reports.
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 countryâs domestic affairs.
Erdogan met his ultra-nationalist ruling coalition 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 Turkeyâs closest allies and trading partners.
He concluded the meeting by victoriously announcing in televised comments that the 10 ambassadors had learnt their lesson and âwill be more careful nowâ.
The new Western statement âshows they have taken a step back from the slander against our countryâ, Erdogan said.
The lira recovered from a historic low against the dollar on relief that Turkey and the West had stepped back from the brink of the most serious diplomatic crisis of Erdoganâs 19-year rule.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price later told reporters that Washington intended to âcontinue to promote the rule of law and respect for human rightsâ while working with Turkey on âmany issues of mutual interest
