At the same time, the French Mission in Ankara emailed a similar message to its nationals present in the country, citing the United States’ warning. “As the risk of a terrorist attack in Turkey remains high, as recalled in the US Embassy security alert dated January 27, 2023, French people staying in or transiting through Turkey are urged to exercise maximum vigilance, particularly places of gathering are likely to be visited by foreigners, including places of worship,” she said. That press release was due to be posted online on the websites of the foreign ministry and the French embassy in Ankara in the evening, a diplomat told AFP. Germany and Italy have also warned their nationals.
The warnings come after several demonstrations in Stockholm last week and in Copenhagen on Friday where copies of the Koran, Muslims’ holy book, were burned by an extremist who claims he is defying Turkey’s veto on Sweden’s accession to protest NATO. In fact, since May, Ankara has been blocking the expansion of the Atlantic Alliance to include that country and Finland, and has been demanding from Stockholm the extradition of Kurdish refugees whom it considers “terrorists”.