European countries announced closing their consulates in Istanbul
On Wednesday, Germany and Sweden announced closing their consulates in Istanbul, due to security reasons.
The British and Dutch Consulates General in Istanbul had announced that they had stopped receiving visitors due to the threat of terrorist attacks in the center of the Turkish capital.
The German Consulate said: “The German Consulate will close its doors on February 1, as all visa and passport procedures have been suspended”.
In addition, the Swedish consulate has stopped accepting visitors, as the consulate is located on the pedestrian Istiklal Street in the central Beyoglu district, where the terrorist attack took place in November last year, while the German and British consulates are located near this street.
Also, the US embassy also warned its citizens on Monday of the danger of terrorist attacks in central Istanbul, which could target churches, synagogues, diplomatic missions and other popular places crowded with foreigners, especially the neighborhoods of Istanbul Beyoglu, Galata, Taksim and Istiklal Street.
The US embassy had warned last week of the possibility of terrorist attacks against the background of the burning of Qurans in Europe by the extreme right, then the French diplomatic mission issued a similar warning, citing information from the US embassy.
Turkish relations with a number of European countries, led by Sweden, are witnessing tension with Türkiye against the background of the demonstrations that erupted after burning copies of the Holy Quran by right-wing extremists in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.
