Some Western countries' closure of Istanbul consulates 'deliberate': Turkish foreign minister

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) – Criticizing the recent closure of some Western consulates in Istanbul, Türkiye’s top diplomat on Friday called the move “deliberate,” adding that the countries involved had not shared any information about what they called “security reasons.”

"We think this was deliberate," said Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu about the closures. “This is exactly what we said by summoning the ambassadors to the ministry," he told a news conference in Istanbul with his Argentine counterpart Santiago Cafiero.

Cavusoglu's remarks came a day after Türkiye summoned ambassadors of Western countries, including the US, to criticize their decision to temporarily shut diplomatic missions and issue security alerts following recent burnings in Europe of Islam's holy book the Quran.

The ambassadors of Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK were also summoned to the Foreign Ministry, according to Turkish diplomatic sources, adding that such simultaneous acts do not show a proportional and prudent approach, but instead only serve the "insidious agenda of terrorist groups."

"Why did they close?” asked Cavusoglu. “They say there’s a terrorist threat. Now, if there is a terrorist threat, shouldn't they – especially if they are allies – tell us where this threat originated from?”

"They tell us, 'We have concrete information, there’s a threat. That's why we're closing.' Who did it come from? Where? Who will do it? There’s no information about that,” he explained.

“They must share this information with us, that is, to our security units, to our intelligence units, and if there is such a threat, it must be eliminated before it turns into an attack."

Those countries are not sharing "concrete" information and documents with Türkiye, he added.

On Thursday, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu also criticized the closures, noting that they came just as Türkiye had announced promising tourism figures, and saying the unexplained closures constituted “psychological warfare.”