No threat to ordinary citizens and visitors in Turkey
By Tatia Megeneishvili
Friday, July 29
“Turkey’s democracy is not in danger,” said the Turkish Ambassador to Georgia, Zeki Levent Gumrukcu, in Tbilisi on July 27.
During a meeting with journalists, Gumrukcu commented on the recent military coup attempt in Turkey of July 15.
He denied that Turkey may leave the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and confirmed that Ankara is not holding negotiations with Russia on any form of new alliance.
According to the Ambassador, Turkey is still a safe country for tourists.
"I would like to assure you that there is no threat for visitors in Turkey. You will not even notice anything unusual caused by the state of emergency in big cities or in tourist resorts,” stated Gumrukcu.
The Ambassador also commented on the Turkish economy’s development due to the recent events.
“We do not agree that the recent developments in our country will negatively affect the economic situation of Turkey and the region. On the contrary, a significant increase has been observed in foreign investments in recent days. It provides an optimistic view of events,” he claimed.
Gumrukcu urged Georgia - as well as other partner countries - not to worry in this regard.
The Ambassador reiterated that tourists from Georgia or other countries may freely travel to Turkey.
“As the Turkish President, Prime Minister and Tourism Minister stressed in their speeches, there is no threat to local or foreign citizens in major cities or tourist areas,” he stated.
According to Gumrukcu, despite the coup attempt, the inflow of tourists to Turkey has increased.
