Turkey said on Friday (February 3) that Western nations, including the United States and Germany, had not given it any information to back up their assertions that security threats had prompted them to close their missions in the country, Reuters reports.
Foreign minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu suggested the powers may have been trying to portray Turkey as a volatile state when they temporarily shut embassies and consulates and issued travel warnings following Koran-burning incidents in Europe.
"No matter how you look at this situation, these statements (from foreign consulates) and closing actions are intentional. We have made the necessary warnings, if they continue such methods without sharing concrete information and documents with us, we will also take further steps," Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said.
Last week, France, Germany, Italy, the United States, and others issued warnings to their citizens of an increased risk of attacks in Turkey, particularly against diplomatic missions and non-Muslim places of worship, in the wake of Koran-burning protests in Europe.
This week, countries including Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Switzerland temporarily closed diplomatic missions in Turkey, saying it was for security reasons.
On Wednesday Turkey summoned the ambassadors of nine Western countries to criticize the decision, as interior minister, Suleyman Soylu, said on Twitter the embassies were waging "a new psychological war" on his country.
Over the last month, far-right activists burned copies of the Muslim holy book, the Koran, in Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands, acts that prompted Turkey to suspend negotiations meant to lift its objections to Sweden and Finland joining NATO.
