On October 23, local time, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he had ordered the ambassadors of ten countries to be classified as persona non grata and asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to deport them. The ten countries are Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Finland, New Zealand and the United States, who were forcibly expelled by Erdogan for calling for the release of businessman Osman Kavala.
Seven of the ten countries required to be deported from Turkey are Turkey's NATO allies, and if the deportation order is implemented, the deepest rift between Turkey and the West will emerge in 19 years since Erdogan was in power, according to reference news reported on October 24.
The Turkish businessman Osman Kavala, who has demanded release from the ten countries, has been jailed for four years, charged with funding nationwide protests in 2013 and accused of participating in a 2016 coup.
On October 18, in response to osman Kavala's imprisonment, the ten countries issued a joint statement calling for a fair and expeditious resolution of Kavala's case and his "urgent release." In response, the Speaker of the Turkish Parliament, the Minister of Justice, the Minister of the Interior and others issued statements condemning it one after another, saying that diplomats have an obligation to respect the judicial institutions of the countries where they are stationed and should not make statements that affect the judicial institutions of the country. On October 19, Turkey's Foreign Ministry summoned the ambassadors of 10 countries, accusing them of "violating diplomatic practices" and issuing a rude joint statement to politicize judicial cases and cross the line.
A U.S. State Department spokesman said on October 23 that the U.S. side had seen relevant reports and was seeking explanations from the Turkish Foreign Ministry. But as of October 24, U.S. President Joe Biden has not responded to the matter, and the White House spokesman has not commented on it at the first time. Denmark and Norway both said on October 23 that their ambassadors to Turkey have not yet received any official eviction notice, and the New Zealand Foreign Office also said it would not comment on the issue until it received the official notification, and said it would attach importance to relations with Turkey.
Lebanon's "Messenger" commented that the expulsion of the ambassador has once again exposed the potential conflict and discord between Turkey and Western countries, "if the expulsion is put into action, it will not only deeply impact the relations between Turkey and Western countries, but also have an impact on the regional pattern and the world situation."