Turkey and West climb down from brink of biggest diplomatic crisis

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint news conference with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja, Nigeria October 20, 2021. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde

ANKARA (Reuters) -Turkey and its Western allies climbed down from a full-blown diplomatic crisis on Monday after foreign embassies said that they abide by diplomatic conventions on non-interference, averting a threatened expulsion of 10 ambassadors.

President Tayyip Erdogan, who said at the weekend he had ordered the envoys to be declared "persona non grata" for seeking the release of a jailed philanthropist, told a news conference they had stepped back and would be more careful.