The Aftermath Of The Security Warning After The Burning Of The Al-Qur'an In Europe: Turkey Calls Nine West Ambassadors, Including The US

Turkish illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/Randam)

JAKARTA - Turkey summoned ambassadors of nine Western countries, including the United States and Sweden on Thursday, to criticize their decision to temporarily close diplomatic missions and issue a security warning following the Al-Qur'an burning incident in Europe.

Belgian, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Swiss and British envoys were also summoned, according to foreign ministry sources in Ankara.

Over the past two weeks, far-right activists burned a copy of the Al-Qur'an holy book in Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands, a move Turkey to stop negotiations meant to lift its objections to Sweden and Finland joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

European countries have denounced the incident, but some say they cannot prevent it because of the rules of free speech.

Over the past week, France, Germany, Italy, and the United States have been among those who issued warnings to their citizens about increasing the risk of attacks on Turkey, particularly against diplomatic missions and non-Muslim places of worship.

Germany, France, and the Netherlands were among the countries temporarily closing diplomatic missions in Turkey for security reasons this week. Some quoted the central Istanbul area as of high concern, but did not provide a source of information.

"Such simultaneous activities are not a proportional and reasonable approach and... only serve the secret agenda of terrorist organizations," said a foreign ministry source who asked not to be further identified.

The source added that the security of all diplomatic missions was ensured in accordance with international conventions and "allied must cooperate with" Turkish authorities.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Twitter the embassy was fomenting a "new psychological war" against Turkey.

Diplomatic tensions escalated last weekend as Turkey responded to early US security warnings, warning its citizens against "likely Islamophobic, xenophobic and racist attacks" in the United States and Europe.

Separately, the US Embassy confirmed Ambassador Jeffry Flake attended a meeting at the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Thursday. Two European diplomatic sources said envoys from Germany, France, and the Netherlands were also summoned.

Yesterday, police in Norwegian NATO members banned planned anti-Islamic protests including the burning of the Al-Qur'an for security reasons, hours after the Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned Ambassador Oslo.

Sweden and Finland filed a NATO membership application last year, when Russia invaded Ukraine. That must be approved by all NATO members, totaling 30 countries. However, the app objected to Turkey.

Since then they have sought to win their support including agreeing to take hard lines at home against those who Turkey says are members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), designated as terrorist groups by Ankara and the European Union.