Erdogan Drops Call for Envoy Expulsions, Avoids Escalation
- Turkish President softens stance on critical ambassadors
- Row had hit lira, threatened to hurt ties with Western allies
Photographer: Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty Images
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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dropped his demand for 10 Western ambassadors to be expelled from Turkey, deescalating a diplomatic row that had shaken the lira and was set to bring Ankara’s ties with key partners to the brink of collapse.
Erdogan said the envoys, including the U.S. ambassador, had issued a statement to undo the “slander” caused by their earlier joint demand for Turkey to release a businessman and government critic who’s been in jail for four years. “Our intention is never to cause a crisis,” he said in televised comments after a cabinet meeting in capital on Monday. “It’s about protecting our country’s sovereign rights.”