Turkey summons ambassadors of 9 international locations over safety alerts

ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey summoned ambassadors of 9 international locations on Thursday to demand a proof, after international locations briefly shut diplomatic missions and issued safety alerts citing a heightened risk following Koran burning incidents in Europe.

Far-right activists burned Korans in Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands final week, acts that led to a halt in negotiations for Turkey to elevate objections to Sweden and Finland becoming a member of NATO.

The European international locations have denounced the incidents however some say they can’t forestall them due to free speech guidelines.

International locations together with France, Germany, Italy and the USA have warned their residents of an elevated danger of assaults in Turkey, notably towards diplomatic missions and non-Muslim locations of worship. Germany, France and the Netherlands have been amongst international locations that briefly closed diplomatic missions for safety causes this week.

Turkey, for its half, warned its residents over the weekend towards “potential Islamophobic, xenophobic and racist assaults” in the USA and Europe.

A Turkish international ministry supply mentioned ambassadors from 9 international locations have been summoned on Thursday, however didn’t establish them. The U.S. embassy confirmed that its ambassador attended a gathering on the ministry. Two European diplomatic sources mentioned ambassadors from Germany, France and the Netherlands have been additionally summoned.

Ruling AK Occasion spokesperson Omer Celik dismissed safety alerts as “irresponsible statements”, including that Turkey was a protected nation.

Inside Minister Suleyman Soylu mentioned some momentary closures of some Western international locations’ consulates attributable to safety issues have been aimed toward launching a psychological conflict towards Turkey.

(Reporting by Huseyin Hayatsever and Ezgi Erkoyun; Enhancing by Alison Williams and Peter Graff)