Turkey: President Erdogan declares French ambassador “persona non grata” after his support for the opposa – franceinfo

The tension shows between France and Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday (October 23) that ambassadors from ten countries, including France, Germany and the United States, who have called for the release of opponent Osman Kavala, will be declared “persona non grata”.

“I ordered our Minister of Foreign Affairs to settle as quickly as possible the declaration of these ten ambassadors as persona non grata“, said the head of state during a trip to central Turkey, without however giving a precise date. These ambassadors “must know and understand Turkey”, asserted Recep Tayyip Erdogan accusing them “indecency”. “They will have to leave” the country “if they don’t know him anymore”, he added.

In a statement released on Monday evening, Canada, France, Finland, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and the United States called for a “fair and expeditious settlement of the matter” Osman Kavala, Turkish businessman and patron who has become a pet peeve of the regime, imprisoned for four years without trial. This 64-year-old opponent, a major figure in civil society, has been accused since 2013 by President Erdogan’s regime of seeking to destabilize Turkey.

The Turkish head of state threatened Thursday to expel these ambassadors, without however taking concrete measures in this direction. Turkey summoned the ambassadors of these ten countries on Tuesday, judging “unacceptable” their call for the release of Osman Kavala.