Turkish President warns German Foreign Minister to 'know his place'

In recent days, Ankara and Berlin have been constantly criticizing each other, and if this situation continues, the relationship between Germany and Türkiye will come to an end.

Turkish President Erdogan

According to Ria Novosti, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has responded strongly to the accusations of German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, accusing Ankara of "rude interference" in the election campaign in Germany. At the same time, he warned German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel to "know his limits".

“Of course they are upset and are starting to get restless,” Erdogan told supporters in the southwestern Turkish province of Denizli. He went on to urge the German-Turkish community not to vote for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens. “Teach these three parties a lesson in the elections,” Erdogan said. “They are campaigning against Türkiye. Vote for those who do not consider Turkey an enemy.”

Responding to the Turkish leader's statement, Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said that Erdogan's call was "a rude interference in the election campaign" in Germany. For his part, the German diplomat called on German immigrants of Turkish origin to actively participate in the elections to the German parliament and vote for the Democratic Party.

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel

When expressing his opinion on the German Foreign Minister's accusations of "interference", the Turkish President made harsh criticism of Mr. Sigmar Gabriel.

In remarks broadcast on Turkish television, Mr Erdogan said: "He knows no limits! In what capacity does he speak to the Turkish president? Know your place. He is trying to teach us a lesson... How long have you been in politics? How old are you?".

Elections to the German Bundestag will be held on September 24. Recent figures show that the Christian Democratic Union is the clear favourite, with 34% of respondents willing to vote for it, followed by the Social Democrats with 24% of the polls. The Free Democrats, Alternative for Germany and the Greens have 8% of the vote, and the Left Party has 9%.

Synthesized by Infonet.vn