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Shutdown of diplomatic sites plays into terrorist hands, Ankara tells Western envoys — TV

The Turkish Foreign Ministry emphasized that the safety of all diplomatic facilities in Turkey was ensured based on international agreements

ANKARA, February 2. /TASS/. The Turkish Foreign Ministry told nine ambassadors summoned on Thursday that the move to close consulate generals in Istanbul for security reasons "serves the interests of terrorist organizations," the TRT broadcaster reported, citing the ministry’s sources.

According to the media outlet, the Foreign Ministry summoned ambassadors from several countries, including those who had temporarily shut down their consulate generals (Belgium, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the United States, France, Switzerland and Sweden). The ministry emphasized that the safety of all diplomatic facilities in Turkey was ensured based on international agreements. Ankara also drew the envoys’ attention to the need to cooperate in the fight against terrorism.

The ambassadors were summoned following Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu’s statement that a number of Western nations had started "a psychological war" against his country, citing the terrorist threat to shut down their diplomatic facilities without providing 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 the 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.

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