Turkey denounces 'psychological war' as Western consulates close
Turkey has summoned ambassadors from nine countries after a number of diplomatic missions temporarily shut their doors amid a growing terror threat level.
ISTANBUL — The Turkish interior minister accused the United States and the West on Thursday of waging “psychological war” against Turkey after several states temporarily closed consulates in Istanbul on the grounds of a heightened terror threat.
Suleyman Soylu also claimed the closure of diplomatic missions was an effort to undermine the Turkish tourism industry.
“America and the West do not want us to be independent and free in this geography,” he told a meeting of gendarmerie commanders in Ankara. “On a day when we have been aiming for 60 million tourists, at a time when 50.5 million tourists arrived and we obtained $46 billion in tourism revenue, they were on the threshold of starting a new psychological war on Turkey.”
Data from the Turkish Statistical Institute released Tuesday showed tourism revenue in 2022 rose by more than half on the previous year, with 44.6 million foreigners arriving in Turkey.
