The Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that Turkey was “a safe country”, thus responding indirectly to the Israeli authorities who called on their nationals to leave the country for fear of Iranian attacks.
“Some countries have issued warnings to their nationals in Turkey (…) Turkey is a safe country and continues to fight terrorism inside and outside its borders,” the ministry said in a statement, without ever quote Israel. According to Ankara, the calls to leave Turkey are linked to “international developments”. “The relevant authorities are taking all kinds of necessary security measures within the framework of counter-terrorism cooperation mechanisms,” the ministry added.
Tehran announced on Tuesday that Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian discussed “the need to continue the existing consultations between the two countries” during a phone call on Tuesday with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu. Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Monday called on Israeli nationals in Turkey to leave the country “as soon as possible” for fear of Iranian attacks. The Israeli press has reported on attempted attacks against Israelis in Turkey, citing sources who requested anonymity.
These attacks would have been thwarted thanks to a collaboration between Israeli and Turkish security services, the two countries having strengthened their relations in recent months. “I would like to thank the Turkish government for its efforts to protect the lives of Israeli citizens,” Lapid said.
As a reminder, the Israeli Foreign Minister, Yaïr Lapid, called on Monday, June 13, his nationals who are in Turkey to leave this country “as soon as possible” for fear of Iranian attacks. “Following a series of attempted Iranian terrorist attacks in recent weeks against Israelis vacationing in Istanbul, we call on Israelis not to fly to Istanbul and, (…) if you are already in Istanbul , return to Israel as soon as possible,” Lapid said on Twitter.
In recent weeks, the Israeli press has reported on attempted attacks against Israelis in Turkey, citing sources who requested anonymity. These attacks would have been thwarted thanks to a collaboration between Israeli and Turkish security services, the two countries having strengthened their relations in recent months.
Comments are closed