Foreign Ministry

The Romanian Government, with the direct involvement of the Department for emergency interventions coordinated by Raed Arafat, has decided to set up a working group for urgent management of the situation of Romanian nationals stuck in the Bulgarian spa town of Albena because of the floods that hit Bulgaria over the past days.

Greece’s six-month presidency of the European Union, which is set to end on June 30, is likely to be the least costly on record, according to sources at the Foreign Ministry who indicated that less than half of the 50 million euros earmarked for the presidency by former Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras have been spent so far.

Turkey has updated its travel warning for Iraq, increasing the number of Iraqi provinces where Turkish citizens may face security problems, from seven to 15.

Anbar, Baghdad, Basra, Diyala, Mosul, Kirkuk and Salahaddin were already listed by the Foreign Ministry as provinces that Turkish citizens should avoid travelling through.

Turkey’s consulate in the Iraqi city of Basra has been evacuated due to security concerns, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu announced June 17. The 18 consulate staff members, including the consul general were were taken to Kuwait, Davutoğlu wrote via his Twitter account.

The German foreign ministry said on June 17 that eight Germans working for the engineering company Siemens had been rescued from an area of Iraq that has fallen into the hands of insurgents north of Baghdad.

"All the German employees who were trapped in the power plant in Baiji are now in safety," said a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen is set to arrive for talks in Turkey, as efforts continue to secure the safe release of dozens of Turkish nationals taken hostage by a jihadist group in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

During his visit to Ankara on June 16, Rasmussen will meet both President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has expressed concern about the situation of Turkmens after Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants extended their offensive to Mosul’s Telafer district in northern Iraq, where many Turkmens live.

Turkey said on June 14 works to release of its 80 citizens kidnapped by the jihadists in Mosul are being carried out with great care and that it intensified its efforts for the evacuation of Turkish citizens in different parts of Iraq.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has discussed the growing insurgency in Iraq with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for the second time in three days, while Ankara established a crisis desk to inform the Turkish public daily about 80 Turks taken hostage by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in northern Iraq.

The  government will establish a crisis desk to inform the Turkish public daily about the latest developments in Iraq, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said June 13 after a crisis coordination meeting at the Foreign Ministry.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have continued their advance in Iraq after seizing Mosul on June 9.