Turkey says Germany's block on Erdogan rally 'unacceptable'

Some German politicians' remarks on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Hamburg to attend the G20 Summit are "unacceptable," Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin said on Thursday.


Ankara submitted a formal request Wednesday for Erdogan to address Turkish citizens during the G20 summit in Hamburg on July 7-8. But the request was rejected by Berlin.

On Thursday, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said that such request would be "inappropriate" for the purpose of the summit.

Turks living in Germany are part of society, with most of them having German citizenship, and other countries should not be allowed to bring their domestic conflicts to Germany, Gabriel said at the 14th Conference of Russian and German Partner Cities in Russia's southern city of Krasnodar.

Describing Berlin's move as "provocative and malevolent," Kalin said hindering Erdogan's meeting with Turkish citizens by citing "thin excuses" does not comply with the friendship relation between two countries.

"We hope that German authorities will not repeat grave mistakes made during the referendum process," he said.

Germany-Turkey relations have been strained over the past months. In March, several German cities banned rallies held by Turkish officials ahead of the April 16 referendum which expanded the president's powers.

  [Xinhua/China]

30/6/17