Germany 'concerned' after Erdogan threatens to expel foreign envoys

After Turkey's President Erdogan threatened to expel ambassadors from ten countries, Germany expressed concern while adding that there had not received any notification from the government.

Erdogan had said his government would expel ambassadors belonging to NATO allies including the United States as they demanded the release of philanthropist Osman Kavala. Kavala has reportedly been in jail since 2017 without conviction.

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Erdogan in a speech said he would declare the ambassadors "persona non grata" while informing that he has asked the country's foreign minister to go ahead with the order.

The US hasn't formally reacted to Erdogan's order as Norway said it hadn't received the order. Last week the FATF had put Turkey on the "grey list" of countries for money laundering and terrorist financing attracting the government's ire.

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On Monday, the Turkish Lira which has already hit record lows against the dollar dived further. The FATF directive has already put pressure on Turkey's ability to attract foreign investment even as it struggles amid high inflation.

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Last week Germany, France, US, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Canada,  Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands had demanded Kavala to be freed stating that the incident "cast a shadow" over the country's democracy.

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Although Erdogan said he had decided to expel the ambassadors but there has been no official notification so far.

(With inputs from Agencies)