Türkiye warns of action if Western consulate closures continue

By Faruk Zorlu

ANKARA (AA) - The Turkish president on Sunday condemned the temporary closure of Western consulates in Istanbul, warning of action if the missions continue to remain shut.

"Recently, our Foreign Ministry summoned them and gave them an ultimatum. It said that if they continue such actions, they will pay a heavy price," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a meeting with the youth in the country's western Aydin province.

Erdogan's remarks came after Türkiye summoned ambassadors of Western countries, including the US, to criticize their decision to temporarily shut diplomatic missions on the pretext of security threats.

"We have a cabinet meeting on Monday, and we will take the necessary decisions regarding this move," the Turkish leader said.

The ambassadors of Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK were also summoned to the Foreign Ministry, according to Turkish diplomatic sources, and were told that such simultaneous acts do not show a proportional and prudent approach, but instead serve the "insidious agenda of terrorist groups."

Earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu had called the move “deliberate,” and said the countries concerned were not sharing concrete information or documents with Ankara.

- Global food crisis

Turning to the global food crisis after the Ukraine war, and the Türkiye-brokered Black Sea grain export deal, he said: "In world politics, nobody is holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin right now. But I am holding talks with President Putin, as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy."

Last July, Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed an agreement in Istanbul to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports which were paused after the war that began in February 2022.

"We receive the Black Sea grain and distribute it to the world," Erdogan said, adding: "Putin said 'let's send this grain for free, you turn this grain into flour and send it to poor African countries.'"

"We agreed, the grain will be shipped to Türkiye for free. We will turn them into flour and we will send it to poor African countries. We are on it now," he said. "Of course, this bothers some people. But no matter what, we will do the right thing."

- Forthcoming elections

Highlighting the importance of Türkiye's forthcoming elections, Erdogan said: "Everyone, including the international media, is writing how important the elections are for our country, the nation, and global politics."

Criticizing global powers for making efforts to influence the vote, expected on May 14, in a way that suits them, Erdogan said: "That is why despicable campaigns are being launched against me. This is the purpose of the acts of burning our holy book Quran, which is supported under the guise of freedom of expression."

A perception of insecurity is being created, the purpose of which is to target our tourism sector, he said.

Rasmus Paludan, an extremist Swedish-Danish politician, burned a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm on Jan. 21, with both police protection and permission from Swedish authorities.

The following week, he burned a copy of Islam's holy book in front of a mosque in Denmark and said he would repeat the act every Friday until Sweden is included in NATO.

Sweden's entry into the military alliance needs to be ratified by Ankara. Türkiye is opposing Sweden's NATO bid for its support to the terrorist PKK and the Fetullah Gulen Terrorist Organization.