Turkey criticizes Germany's reaction to PM's remarks
ANKARA — Turkey's foreign ministry criticized Germany's reaction to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's remarks about a German politician, calling it undemocratic."In a platform where policies mutually affect and shape each other, it is natural for Turkish politicians to use their legal rights of reply on the face of a remark by a politician in Germany regarding Turkish politicians' discourses and policies," the foreign ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgiç said in a written statement Saturday.On Friday, German foreign ministry summoned Turkey's ambassador in Berlin to convey 'discomfort' over Erdoğan's recent remarks in retaliation to a German political leader criticizing his visit to Germany last week.Following Erdoğan's rally in Cologne last Saturday, Cem Özdemir, co-chairperson of the Greens party, said Erdoğan's visit in Germany lost him Berlin's support and hurt Turkey's relations with the EU.Earlier this week, Erdoğan gave a response to words by Özdemir -- who is of Turkish origin, -- saying: "You should know your limits and first of all respect the prime minister of the country you belong to. You are nobody to tell me whether or not I should come to Germany. Despite harsh criticism from both co-chairpersons of the German Greens Party, we have always kept our doors open for them in Turkey."In his statement, foreign ministry spokesperson Bilgiç said "It is not democratic to assume that Turkish politicians will take a passive stance and not respond to criticisms."Underscoring that Turkey and Germany have close relations that possess vast opportunities for cooperation, Bilgiç said that the developments in both countries are being monitored closely by both communities.
Last Update: June 01, 2014 11:26