Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said on Friday that Turkey will fly its flag at half mast at the NATO headquarters due to the Nice attack that claimed 85 lives, as part of a NATO decision, after condemning the tragedy in series of Twitter posts in French.
Speaking to the media after attending the Friday prayer at an İstanbul mosque, Yıldırım said that the Turkish government is ready to help and support France in solidarity against terrorism.
The prime minister added that it is no longer possible to designate countries as “safe” or “unsafe” while every country is at risk of terrorism.
In his tweets on Thursday, Yıldırım wrote “I condemn in the strongest terms this deplorable terrorist attack that caused a bloodshed in Nice on a national holiday. Turkey, which stands with all the countries pursuing an international fight against terrorism, is sharing the pain the French people are going through. Terrorism is a crime against humanity and you can never know who will be struck by it. I wish God’s mercy for those who lost their lives in this terrible attack and I hope those injured get well soon.”
The French embassy in the Turkish capital of Ankara announced on Wednesday that it canceled planned celebrations to mark July 14, National Day of France in the provinces of Ankara, İstanbul and İzmir due to security concerns.
The statement issued by the embassy also declared that French diplomatic missions in Turkey’s main cities have been shut down until further notice.
In response to a question regarding the France’s cancellation of events in the Turkish diplomatic missions, Yıldırım said that the security measures in the French diplomatic missions failed to prevent a terror assault.