Australia’s prime minister has declared his country is “making progress” towards repairing its relationship with Turkey after the president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan created a diplomatic row by invoking Anzac deaths at Gallipoli.
During an election rally, Erdoğan showed footage from the devastating Christchurch terrorist attack and said anyone who came to Turkey with anti-Islamic sentiments would be sent back in coffins “like their grandfathers were” during the failed 1915 allied campaign.
A furious Scott Morrison responded by stating Australia was reviewing its travel advisory for Turkey ahead of Anzac Day commemorations at the Gallipoli peninsula, an event which raises millions of dollars for Turkish tourism operators and the economy each year, proclaiming “all options are on the table”.
A day later, following angry diplomatic intervention, and the Australian prime minister appeared mollified by a statement from the Turkish president’s adviser saying Erdoğan’s words had been “taken out of context”, despite his statements having been filmed, and Morrison rejecting the same explanation from the Turkish ambassador.
President #Erdogan’s words were unfortunately taken out of context. He was responding to the so-called ‘manifesto’ of the terrorist who killed 50 innocent Muslims in Christchurch, NewZealand. Turks have always been the most welcoming & gracious hosts to their #Anzac visitors.
— Fahrettin Altun (@fahrettinaltun) March 20, 2019
The terrorist’s manifesto not only targeted Erdogan himself but also the Turkish people and the Turkish state. As he was giving the speech at the Canakkale (Gallipoli) commemoration, he framed his remarks in a historical context of attacks against Turkey, past and present.
— Fahrettin Altun (@fahrettinaltun) March 20, 2019
“Overnight, progress has been made on this issue and overnight we’ve already seen a moderation of the president’s views, expressed in an article in the Washington Post today and I welcome that moderation in those views,” a notably calmer Morrison said on Thursday.
“There has been further meetings held between our officials and the Turkish government, and that’s the appropriate place for those to be held.
“There’s a meeting that takes place in the next few days and the New Zealand foreign minister will be there and our ambassador will attend that meeting and there’ll be opportunities for further discussion.”
Morrison did not back down from his initial reaction, but moderated his own comments in response.
“As I said yesterday, it’s my intention here to break any cycle of recklessness and work through the issues practically, to register in the strongest and clearest of terms the offence that was taken,” he said.
“I stand I believe rightly, by those comments yesterday. But now [we need] to work constructively.
“I want to stress again that Australia and Turkey, the peoples of both countries, have a tremendous relationship, built up over generations; and the Turkish Australian community … you’ll find no finer community in Australia, one of the many, many migrant communities that have built Australia.
“Those issues, I think, are quite separate. This is a matter I’m confident we’ll be able to resolve and work through in the best interests of the wonderful relationship we’ve had with Turkey over a long period of time. So we’re making progress.”
Morrison said he had also spoken to the New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern overnight about Winston Peters’ upcoming meeting with Erdoğan, as well as the joint effort to make social media companies more accountable for what appears on their platforms, after the Christchurch terrorist broadcast the attack.
Morrison said the Department of Foreign Affairs was still reviewing Australia’s travel advice for Turkey ahead of next month’s Anzac Day commemorations.
“I’ve welcomed some of the more positive statements about the safety of Australians travelling from the Turkish government overnight,” he said.
