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Turkish interior minister demands US refrain from agitating his country

On Friday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu accused a number of Western nations that had closed down their consulates in the country for security reasons of failing to comply with their allied obligations

ANKARA, February 3. /TASS/. Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu on Friday accused the United States of ruling Europe and urged Washington to refrain from trying to stir up his country.

"Every US ambassador asks themselves how they can harm Turkey. It has been one of Turkey’s greatest misfortunes for years. They gather other ambassadors and try to give them advice. They do the same in Europe as US embassies run Europe," the Turkish interior minister noted. "They thought about how they could project this on to Turkey but there is one person who spoiled their little game, and that is [President] Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Here, I’m telling the US ambassador that I know the journalists that he gave assignments to. Keep your dirty hands off of Turkey. I know for sure what steps you took and how you plan to stir Turkey up," Soylu added.

On Friday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu accused a number of Western nations that had closed down their consulates in the country for security reasons of failing to comply with their allied obligations.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry earlier 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 Turkish Foreign Ministry also stressed that the Western countries’ approach played into the hands of terrorist organizations.

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.