Turkey has decided to close its embassy in Damascus because of the "steadily deteriorating security situation" in Syria.
The functioning of the Turkish diplomatic mission will be officially suspended from March 22 this year. However, the Turkish Consulate in Aleppo will continue functioning, 1NEWS reports, with reference to the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
The Turkish Foreign Minister also urged its citizens to leave Syria, and in case of problems to contact the Turkish Embassies in Amman or Beirut, or the office of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
In the past few months many countries have closed their diplomatic missions in Syria. In particular, Damascus was vacated by the diplomats of the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, Britain, Denmark, Norway, Italy, Belgium and other countries.
