Turkey PM urges tourists to keep coming

Turkey’s Prime Minister is urging tourists to ignore warnings from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and to carry on visiting the country. As reported by News From Abroad last week, the FCO warned travellers not to visit the Turkish city of Istanbul “unless absolutely necessary” following the four explosions that killed dozens of people in the last two weeks. But Turkey’s PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly told BBC TV’s Breakfast with Frost: “The UK can send its citizens to Turkey very confidently at this point. We prioritise their lives as we prioritise our own lives and show sensitivity to their lives because they are our visitors.” The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) website, at www.fco.gov.uk, still states: “There is a high threat from terrorism in Turkey. We urge you to be vigilant in all parts of the country, and especially in the vicinity of potential terrorist targets.”