Turkey's foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu flashes the Grey Wolves terrorist group's sign at Armenian protesters in Montevideo, Uruguay on Apr. 23
The Uruguay Senate unanimously agreed on Tuesday to not move forward with the appointment of a new ambassador to Turkey, citing the “embarrassing incidents” caused by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu when he was visiting Montevideo last month.
The news was reported by MercoPress.
Çavuşoğlu was on an official visit to Uruguay to attend the opening of a new Turkish embassy and also kick off negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement, when on April 23 he flashed the hand gesture used by the ultra-nationalist Grey Wolves organization to a group of Armenian protesters in Montevideo, a day before the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
The Turkish foreign minister’s actions drew the condemnation https://asbarez.com/uruguay-leaders-angry-at-cavusoglu-for-flashing-grey-wolves-sign-at-armenian-protesters/ of Uruguay’s President Luis Lacalle Pou, who said that Çavuşoğlu behavior should be “strongly criticized (…), the community is hurt, and rightly so.” Uruguay’s Foreign Minister Bustillo, echoed Lacalle Pou’s sentiments saying his counterpart’s gesture was “inadmissible.”
Uruguay Senator Lilliam Kechichian proposed the hold on the approval of the new ambassador to Turkey
“I reject and condemn any insulting conduct or gesture that implies physical or moral violence,” Bustillos said, referring to Cavusoglu’s Grey Wolves salute.
Earlier this week, Çavuşoğlu defended his actions, saying that it was “the necessary response” to the protesters’ “unpleasant attitudes.”
“After these unacceptable and ugly attitudes, we gave the necessary response,” said Çavuşoğlu, according to the Hurriyet Daily News. The minister also said he did not consider his attitude an insult. “We said that we should look to the future,” he added.
The decision to hold the nomination of a new ambassador, Hugo Cayrús, in response to the Turkish leader’s behavior was proposed by opposition Senator Liliam Kechichian, who praised the candidate but cited the incident for her request.
According to MercoPress, the Senate is now waiting for Foreign Minister Bustillo to report on the current state of relations with Turkey after the incident. Cayrús already appeared weeks ago before the Senate International Affairs Committee at a nomination hearing.