DW: Cavusoglu threatened Erdogan with resignation over decision to expel ambassadors

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlet Cavusoglu threatened President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with resignation after he was instructed to proceed with the expulsion of 10 Western ambassadors because they issued a joint statement call for the release from prison of businessman, activist, and philanthropist Osman Kavala, according to a report by the Turkish edition of DW.

The report says that Cavusoglu was on a trip to South Korea when Erdogan issued his instructions for the expulsion and that the foreign minister asked him to delay his decision until his return two days later, 25 October, so that they could discuss the matter both face-to-face and at yesterday’s cabinet meeting.

“If the ambassadors are declared personae non gratae, I shall be forced to leave the ministry,” Cavusoglu reportedly said.

Erdogan told him that he cannot do that, according to the report, which does not name its sources.

Cavusoglu was torn between the formal duty to follow the president’s instructions and his conviction that Erdogan must not go forward with the decision, especially just days before the October 30-31 G20 summit in Rome.

Reaction of members of Erdogan’s party

According to the DW report, there were interventions on the matter by members of the ruling AKP, who warned of the dire repercussions of the decision on Turkey’s diplomatic relations with the US, Germany, France, and Canada.

They proposed that a compromise solution be found and then the Turkish presidency and foreign ministry had contacts with the said embassies to convey the message that must not interfere in Turkey’s domestic issues.

That is how the face-saving compromise solution was found to have the embassies declare that they respect Article 41 of the Vienna Convention, which stipulates that foreign envoys must not interfere in the domestic affairs of the countries where they are serving.

After yesterday’s cabinet meeting, Erdogan invoked the embassies’ statement and maintained that, “The ambassadors of Western countries took a step back and I trust that they will be more careful in their statements.”