BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th October, 2021) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has not yet followed up on his threat to expel ambassadors of 10 Western countries and it might stay this way as he had achieved his goal of projecting power domestically, experts told Sputnik on Monday.
On Saturday, Erdogan announced in a public address that he had instructed the Turkish Foreign Ministry to declare personae non gratae ambassadors of 10 Western countries, including the United States, that called on Ankara to release human rights activist Osman Kavala. However, no action or clarifications followed after that.
The rather irrational declaration was unexpected, but at the same time not too surprising given Erdogan's ego and the overall situation in the country, according to Pierre Vercauteren, a global governance professor at the UCLouvain university in Belgium. He noted that the gesture implicated at least four of Turkey's most important economic partners, and some of the most powerful countries in the world.
"It is, I am afraid, more a gesticulation destined to his internal domestic public. The economic situation is very bad, the Turkish Currency is spiraling down and the domestic protest is increasing. His Islamist party recently lost Istanbul city hall; this international attack is probably launched to increase his domestic legitimacy and make his fellow citizens forget the economic hardship of the time," Vercauteren said.
Erdogan picked a foreign affairs issue that would "enhance" Turkish nationalism, when he himself is under criticism domestically, the expert noted. In the same vein, the Turkish president previously launched major projects, such as a new tunnel under the Bosporus strait or a new gigantic Istanbul airport, or threatened Europe with re-opening migrant flows, the expert added.
However, Vercauteren doubts Erdogan will follow through with his "angry threats" to expel ambassadors. The Turkish Foreign Ministry has not done anything yet, and this hesitation "speaks for itself," he remarked.
"President Erdogan might backtrack, by simply letting his threat float away, now that he has shown to his domestic public that he could take tough decisions. It seems to be the best way forward," Vercauteren said, adding that it would be perplexing if the Turkish leader really chose to seriously damage Turkey's relations with 10 countries, including seven NATO members, over their show of support to a jailed activist.
Vercauteren went on to note that diplomacy has its own language and gradual responses, with expelling diplomats being the last step. Even then, diplomatic relations will not be severed and a replacement will be sent, he said.
Pierre d'Argent, professor of international law at UCLouvain, shared the sentiment, saying there was no mention about severing diplomatic relations, only a request, which is unlikely to be acted upon, to recall certain diplomats.
"This is essentially symbolic and manifests Turkey's discontent. Turkey exposes itself to a reciprocal action by the 10 countries mentioned. It might just stop at the threat," d'Argent concluded.
