The German Federal Foreign Office has commented on the statement of President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan by which he considered the Ambassadors of ten countries “persona non grata”, Gazeta.ru reports, citing Zeit.

The German Federal Foreign Office stated that it will hold consultations with the other nine countries which the restriction concerns.

Earlier, Erdogan had assigned the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to declare the Ambassadors of ten countries, including the U.S. “persona non grata”.

The decision comes after the diplomats’ call to release Turkish human rights activist Osman Kavala, after which the Turkish MFA called the heads of diplomatic missions and reminded them about observing the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.