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 country’s 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 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”.
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 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.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price later told reporters that Washington intended to “continue to promote the rule of law and respect for human rights” while working with Turkey on “many issues of mutual interest
