The Turkish President emphasizes that his country does not need the EU.
(Photo: AP)
Istanbul Things could go better for the Turkish president: the economy is overheated, inflation is at record levels, and his polls are in the basement.
And now he’s made his own situation a little worse. By threatening to expel ten ambassadors, Erdogan has put the West’s relations with Turkey to the test. The states concerned, including Germany and the United States, discussed on Sunday an appropriate response to Erdogan’s announcement that their ambassadors would be undesirable.
You have to face the “authoritarian course of Erdogan internationally,” said Bundestag Vice President Claudia Roth (Greens) of the German Press Agency. The CDU foreign policy expert Norbert Röttgen spoke of an “escalation in foreign policy” to the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. The FDP foreign politician Alexander Graf Lambsdorff wrote on Twitter that a possible expulsion of ten ambassadors “would be unwise, undiplomatic and would weaken the cohesion of the alliance”.
This will put the relations between Turkey and the West, including veto powers of the UN as well as NATO and EU partners, but also Germany, as the last diplomatic ally in the West, to the test. In the worst case, Turkey faces new sanctions if the government in Ankara does not give in.
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Erdogan had previously said in Eskisehir, western Turkey, that he had instructed the Foreign Ministry to declare the ten ambassadors to be “persona non grata”. Such a step usually means the expulsion of the diplomats.
West demands fair treatment of sponsors of culture
The background to Erdogan’s statements is a statement by the ambassadors at the beginning of the week. In it they demand the release of the Turkish entrepreneur and culture promoter Osman Kavala. The 64-year-old has been in custody in Istanbul since 2017, although the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ordered his release in 2019.
Kavala is accused of supporting the anti-government Gezi protests in Istanbul in 2013 and instigating an attempted coup. He is also accused of “political and military espionage” in connection with the attempted coup in 2016.
The Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu supported his country’s actions. “Let them come with cannons or with rifles. Let them gather here not just ten ambassadors, but ambassadors around the world. You can’t break a hair with these people, ”he told the state news agency Anadolu.
Critics, however, say that the deliberately provoked scandal is politically motivated. From circles of the Foreign Office in Berlin it was said of Erdogan’s announcement: “We have taken note of the statements made by Turkish President Erdogan and the reports on it and are currently in intensive consultation with the nine other countries concerned.” The US State Department said, one is looking for “clarity from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey”.
Erdogan is in a bind
A conflict with the West would make Erdogan appear strong, the Kavala theme is particularly suitable for this. The philanthropist is known not only in Turkey for his commitment to civil society, but also in Europe. With his organization Anadolu Kültür, Kavala works with the Goethe Institute and other German foundations, among others. The detainee comes from an entrepreneurial family, but has mainly dedicated himself to cultural exchange since the 1990s.
The actions of the Turkish President reveal a dilemma. On the one hand, Erdogan has to fight his weak poll numbers. In Turkey – and not just since Erdogan – this works best through a nationalist mood.
In 2015 Erdogan stirred up the mood in the country after a failed parliamentary election. Two years later, ahead of a constitutional referendum, he tried the same thing – and won. And even now, the current head of government Erdogan is using nationalist currents to draw attention to himself.
The problem: On the other hand, Erdogan urgently needs support from the West. Turkey wants weapons from the USA and an end to sanctions threats. Ankara is demanding negotiations from the European Union on a customs union and more money to care for more than four million refugees.
There are also rumors about his health. Ankara is already talking about whether the Turkish president will run in the next elections in 2023.
Ambassador expulsion: Now the foreign minister has to act
The eyes are now also on the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu, who is currently in South Korea. If he implements the instructions of his boss, it would be a drastic step that would put a heavy strain on relations between the NATO partner Turkey and the EU and the USA – a week before the G20 summit in Rome. There Erdogan is actually hoping for a bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden.
More: The EU and Turkey are becoming rivals again