Turkey has reverted plans to expel 10 foreign diplomats including US envoy after a secret deal with US officials that the envoys will re-commit to non-interference into Turkey’s internal affairs, Middle East Eye (MEE) reports.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had ordered the expulsion of US, Canada, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, France, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, and Sweden after all issued a joint statement demanding Ankara to abide by the judgement of the European Court of Human Rights and release Osman Kavala; Turkish businessman arrested since 2017 and accused by the Erdogan regime of linked to anti-government protests in 2013 and a failed military coup in 2016.
The sources told the London-based media that the foreign ministry delayed the implementation of the order in the hope that the president could be convinced otherwise.
A senior Turkish official according to the sources reaching to US officials to get the diplomats a chance be correct their move.
The two sides the sources told MEE reached an understanding to lower tensions and come to an agreement: the US and other signatory countries would release a statement that would re-commit them to non-interference towards the domestic affairs of the host country.
The following the deal, the US embassy in Ankara and other missions on Monday released a statement on Twitter: “The United States notes that it maintains compliance with Article 41 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations”, MEE notes.
Canada, the Netherlands and New Zealand each sent a similar message, while France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland followed suit as they re-tweeted the US statement.
Erdogan welcomed the move and asked the envoys to be more careful.
“[They] reverted from a mistake with the release of statements from the embassies today,” he said. “We believe these ambassadors will be more careful from now on.”
Turkey refrained from expelling western diplomats after secret deal with U.S – Middle East Eye
