Turkey claims closure of foreign missions in Istanbul ‘intentional’

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Friday said that recent decisions by Western countries to close their consulates in Istanbul and issue travel warnings were “intentional.” 

Turkey’s refusal to greenlight the NATO membership of Sweden and Finland unless they meet Ankara’s demands has caused diplomatic tensions. This was followed by protests in both Nordic countries last month in which copies of the Holy Quran were burned in front of Turkish embassies in Stockholm and Copenhagen. 

Some Western countries have recently closed their consulates in Istanbul and others, like Germany and US, have instead warned their citizens against visiting tourist hotspots in the city, fearing that Islamic groups could launch retaliatory attacks against them.

Cavusoglu said during a joint press conference with his Argentinian counterpart Santiago Cafiero in Istanbul that some consulates have temporarily stopped all services while others have issued security warnings, adding that the Western countries claim that there is “terrorist threat” against them.

"If there is a terrorist threat, especially against our allies, shouldn't they let us know where this threat originated from? They tell us, 'we have concrete information, there is a threat, so we are closing it'. So who did it come from, where, who will do it? There is no information. They must transmit this correct information to our security units and intelligence units, and if there is such a threat, it must be eliminated before it turns into an attack," the Turkish minister said, reported state media.  

Cavusoglu confirmed that his country on Thursday summoned the ambassadors and top representatives of nine Western countries to express its condemnation of their decisions. 

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu on Thursday slammed the Western countries for closing their move, seeing it as a step to target Turkey’s tourism sector.