‘Ottoman’, British FM on official visit to Turkey

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson kicked off his first official visit to Ankara today by highlighting his “proud ownership” of a Turkish washing machine and steered clear of his past prize-winning insults of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Johnson was named in May as the winner of the Spectator magazine’s “President Tayyip Erdogan Offensive Poetry competition” for a five-line entry that involved the Turkish president, wild oats and a goat.

Two months later, Prime Minister Theresa May tapped Johnson as foreign secretary, prompting concern about a rift with Ankara. A senior Turkish official said at the time Turkey would draw a line under Johnson’s past comments, but warned relations would be damaged if he repeated such insults – a message the foreign secretary seems to have taken to heart.

“We are happy in the United Kingdom to be one of the biggest recipients of Turkish goods. I am the proud owner of a digital, very well-functioning Turkish washing machine,” Johnson told reporters at a news conference in Ankara, as Turkish EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik sat smiling next to him.

He said he saw a new partnership between the two countries following the Brexit vote.

Celik hailed the Oxford-educated former journalist’s Turkish roots, referring to him as an “Ottoman” and a strong supporter of Turkey in the aftermath of its failed 15 July coup.

Johnson’s great-grandfather was an opposition figure in the late Ottoman period and was lynched during Turkey’s War of Independence in the early 1920s.

Johnson said he hoped British tourists – who traditionally flock to Turkey’s Mediterranean beaches in the summer – “behaved themselves” in the country.

He is due to meet Erdogan tomorrow.