Swedish Radio News quotes a letter written by the consul, Ingmar Karlsson, addressing the Stockholm foreign ministry. In the six pages-long letter, Karlsson demands that his budget be heightened in order to cover basic costs such as wages, telephone bills and gasoline for the consul’s car.
If not, Sweden’s Istanbul representation had to be closed, Karlsson added, expressing deep anger over the fact that the ministry in Stockholm has cut his budget for the current year – thus making it impossible to actually run the consulate general.
Source: By Sveriges Radio 2008