Washington expects Ankara to clarify the orders of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan given to the Turkish Foreign Ministry to declare persona non grata ambassadors of 10 countries, including the expulsion of the US ambassador to Ankara.

The US State Department was previously joined by European Parliament President David Sassoli, who described Turkey's actions as authoritarian.

Erdogan has declared ambassadors of 10 Western countries persona non grata. The move announced by Erdogan was because diplomats expressed support and demanded the release of Turkish activist Osman Kavala.

Kavala, an associate of a number of civic groups, has been jailed for four years on charges of financing protests across the country.

Osman Kavala was initially arrested in connection with the Gezi Park protests in 2013, but was later charged with espionage and attempting to overthrow the government during a failed 2016 coup.

He is in jail without a verdict, although his release was ruled by the European Court of Human Rights in December 2019. He remained in custody pending his final trial and has denied the charges.

In a joint statement on October 18, the ambassadors of Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Finland, New Zealand and the United States called for a fair and speedy resolution of the Kavala case and for its "immediate release". He is in prison without a verdict, although his release was decided by the European Court of Human Rights in December 2019. They were summoned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where they described the statement of the ten ambassadors as irresponsible.

Erdogan's move comes at a time when Russia is withdrawing from a joint oversight body for NATO co-operation. after the alliance expelled 8 members of the Russian team on the grounds that they were Russian spies. Erdogan's move is interpreted as Ankara and Moscow having close relations in working together against certain US interests. Although a NATO member, Turkey still has some objections to US and EU policies.

Ankara has long demanded a visa-free regime for Turkish citizens in EU countries. Tensions between Ankara and Washington and Brussels have escalated further as Turkey, despite opposition from its NATO allies, has begun procuring Russian weapons, primarily against S-500 missile systems. Due to this purchase, the United States stopped the delivery of F-35 fighter jets, which Ankara accused of being paid, but that Washington does not want to deliver them.