US to Turkey, we ask for clarity on the ambassadors

(ANSA) - ISTANBUL, OCTOBER 24 - Washington asks Ankara for "clarity" with respect to the situation of the American ambassador in Turkey, for whom the expulsion was ordered yesterday by the head of Turkish state Recep Tayyip Erdogan who also wants to expel other 9 Western diplomats for asking for the release of a political dissident. "We are aware of what has been reported and are seeking clarity from the Turkish Foreign Ministry," said a State Department spokesman quoted by several US agencies.

    Norway, Denmark and New Zealand have also made known through their foreign ministries that they await official communications from the Turkish authorities.

    Yesterday Erdogan ordered the expulsion of the ambassadors in Turkey of Canada, France, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and the USA for asking Ankara to free Osman Kavala, a Turkish philanthropist committed to the defense of human rights in prison for more than four years and on which various charges are pending, including having had a role in the attempted coup in Turkey in 2016. The president of the European Parliament David Sassoli criticized Erdogan's statement speaking of an "authoritarian drift of the Turkish government".

(HANDLE).