Political opponents call Erdogan's threat to expel ambassadors a distraction from economic woes

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's political opponents said his call to expel the ambassadors of 10 Western countries was an attempt to distract attention from Turkey's economic difficulties, while diplomats hoped the expulsions might yet be averted.

On Saturday, Erdogan said he ordered the envoys — including Canada's — be declared persona non grata for seeking philanthropist Osman Kavala's release from prison. The foreign ministry has not yet carried out the president's instruction, which would open the deepest rift with the West in Erdogan's 19 years in power.

The diplomatic crisis coincides with investor worries about the Turkish lira's fall to a record low after the central bank, under pressure from Erdogan to stimulate the economy, unexpectedly slashed interest rates by 200 points last week.

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the main opposition CHP, said Erdogan was "rapidly dragging the country to a precipice."

WATCH | What's behind Erdogan's order to declare envoys persona non grata:

"The reason for these moves is not to protect national interests but to create artificial reasons for the ruining of the economy," he said on Twitter.

Kavala, a contributor to numerous civil society groups is charged with financing nationwide protests in 2013 and with involvement in a failed coup in 2016. He denies the charges and has remained in detention while his trial continues.

Canada's Jamal Khokhar, is among the ambassadors Erdogan said should leave the country, accusing them of "indecency."

The envoys, also including the U.S., French and German representatives in Ankara, issued a statement earlier this week calling for a resolution to the case of Kavala, a businessman and philanthropist who has been in prison since 2017 despite not having been convicted of a crime.

"The continuing delays in [Kavala's] trial, including by merging different cases and creating new ones after a previous acquittal, cast a shadow over the respect for democracy, the rule of law and transparency in the Turkish judiciary system," said the joint statement from Canada, France, Finland, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and the United States.

"We've seen this film before. Return at once to our real agenda and the fundamental problem of this country, the economic crisis," said opposition IYI Party deputy leader Yavuz Agiralioglu.

Erdogan said the envoys were impudent and had no right to demand Kavala's release, stressing that the Turkish judiciary was independent.

Sinan Ulgen, chair of Istanbul-based think tank Edam and a former Turkish diplomat, said Erdogan's timing was incongruous as Turkey was seeking to recalibrate its foreign policy away from episodes of tension in recent years.

"I still hope that Ankara will not go through with this," he wrote on Twitter, describing it as an unprecedented measure among NATO allies. "The foreign policy establishment is working hard to find a more acceptable formula. But time running out."