Turkish FM: Western countries' closure of Istanbul consulates 'deliberate'

Criticizing the recent closure of some Western consulates in Istanbul, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu 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.

The ambassadors of Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK were also summoned to the Foreign Ministry, have been summoned on Thursday and criticized their decision to temporarily shut diplomatic missions and issue security alerts following recent burnings in Europe of Islam's holy book the Quran.

Turkish diplomatic sources talking to state news agency Anadolu claimed “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.

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