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Switzerland becomes sixth country to temporarily close consulate in Istanbul — TV

A major scandal between Turkey and Sweden broke out earlier over the burning of a copy of the Quran in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm
Consulate General of Switzerland in Istanbul FDFA
Consulate General of Switzerland in Istanbul
© FDFA

ANKARA, February 2. /TASS/. The Swiss consulate general in the Turkish city of Istanbul suspended operations on Thursday for security reasons.

Switzerland became the sixth country to close its diplomatic facility in the city due to the threat of terrorist attacks following last week’s Quran-burning incidents in Europe, TV100 reported. Earlier, the consulate generals of the Netherlands, Germany, France, Sweden and the United Kingdom temporarily suspended operations.

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Thursday that a number of Western nations had started "a psychological war" against his country, citing the terrorist threat to shut down their diplomatic facilities but failing to provide any evidence.

A major scandal between Turkey and Sweden broke out earlier over the burning of a copy of the Quran in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm. Similar incidents took place in several other countries. On Thursday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned the Norwegian ambassador to protest a Quran-burning activity scheduled to be held in the country on Friday. In response to the desecration of the Muslim holy book in Sweden, Turkey stated that it would not approve Stockholm’s bid to join NATO.