Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Western diplomatic missions in Turkey would “pay” for issuing security warnings and temporarily closing their consulates in the country last week, while police said there was no major threat to foreigners after the arrest of 15 suspects. in the Islamic State on Sunday. .
Ankara has summoned nine ambassadors to criticize the agreed closure of European consulates. Turkish officials later said that Western countries did not provide them with information confirming what they called a security threat.
Erdogan said during a meeting with the young people that was recorded earlier and broadcast on Sunday: “On that day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs called them all and warned them, telling them: you will pay a high price for this if you continue this.”
In addition to the lockdown, several European countries have warned their citizens of an increased risk of attacks on diplomatic missions and places of worship in Turkey following protests in Europe in recent weeks when far-rightists burned copies of the Quran.
And Turkey suspended talks on Sweden and Finland joining NATO after a copy of the Koran was burned at a protest in Stockholm.
Erdogan said that Western countries are “playing to buy (more) time” and that the “necessary decisions” will be made at a cabinet meeting on Monday, without elaborating.
Earlier Sunday, Turkish state media quoted police as saying they found no evidence of any specific threat to foreigners following the detention of 15 ISIS suspects accused of attacking consulates and places of worship.
The Anadolu news agency cited a statement by the Istanbul police that the suspects “received instructions regarding actions against the consulates of Sweden and the Netherlands, as well as Christian and Jewish places of worship.”
The suspects’ ties to the Islamic State group have already been confirmed, the statement said, but authorities have not concluded that there are specific threats to foreigners.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Saturday reiterated his country’s dissatisfaction with what she says is Sweden’s inaction on organizations that Ankara accuses of terrorism.
Last June, Turkey, Sweden and Finland signed an agreement aimed at overcoming Ankara’s objections to the two countries’ efforts to join NATO, and the two countries pledged to take a tougher stance against members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on their soil. .
