The AKP's diplomacy

Turkey is a country fond of setting negative records like having the largest number of journalists in prison, being one of the champions in violence against women, or being the country that has tried to close down You Tube or Twitter the most. 

It is racing now in a new category and vying to be the country with the largest number of ambassadors recalled from various countries in a diplomatic huff, ostensibly to punish them for their misdeeds against Turkey, or simply for angering the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) for one reason or other.

The latest addition to the posts that have been vacated by a Turkish envoy is Vienna, after Ankara recalled its ambassador there for consultations following the adoption of a nonbinding resolution on the Armenian genocide by that country?s parliament. It recently withdrew its ambassador in the Vatican following Pope Francis?s Armenian statement.

This makes seven countries now that Turkey does not have ambassadors in. These are Israel, Syria, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, the Vatican and now Austria. The case of Syria and Yemen may appear the exception since other countries have withdrawn their ambassadors from those countries.

They still merit being placed on this list, though, since it was less than a decade ago that Turkey prided itself for being a neutral regional player that maintains diplomatic ties will all the sides in the Middle East, regardless of regional disputes. 

This changed, though, when Ankara became one of the first countries to recall its ambassador in Damascus before the violence in that country had escalated to what it is today. 

The potential for this list to grow last week was there, of course, given that German President Joachim Gauck and Russian...