Turkish President criticizes German Foreign Minister

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan warned German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel to “know your limits”, after Germany accused Türkiye of “election interference”.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan - Photo: AFP

“He (Sigmar Gabriel) has no limits! Who are you to talk to the Turkish president? Know your limits. He is trying to teach us a lesson… How many years have you been in politics? How old are you?”, DW quoted President Erdogan as saying on August 19, during a meeting with a crowd of supporters in the southwestern Turkish province of Deniyli.

The tension over this incident broke out on August 18, when Mr. Erdogan called on people of Turkish origin in Germany not to vote for Mrs. Merkel's Christian Union (CDU), Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel's Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Green Party.

Responding the same day, German Foreign Minister Gabriel condemned Mr. Erdogan's statement, saying that the call was "an unprecedented act of interference" in Germany's sovereignty. Meanwhile, Chancellor Merkel affirmed that no one has the right to "interfere" in the German election process.

Relations between Turkish President Erdogan and German Chancellor Merkel's government have been very bad in recent times, despite both being members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Berlin regularly accuses Ankara of human rights violations, especially after Mr Erdogan's sanctions over the failed 2016 coup.

But it seems that Mr. Erdogan still does not hesitate to escalate the tension, after the above response statement. The Turkish President also repeated the call to "boycott" Mr. Gabriel and Ms. Merkel's party, accusing the current political factions in Germany of using Turkey as a springboard for election campaigns.

“Teach them a lesson about the German elections. They are creating an anti-Türkiye campaign. Vote for people who are not hostile to Türkiye,” the 63-year-old president added.

In recent days, another conflict between Germany and Türkiye has also broken out regarding Spain's arrest of a German author named Dogan Akhanli, which Türkiye itself requested.

Türkiye is still holding many German citizens but has refused to release them. Mr. Erdogan recently emphasized that Germany has not “played fair” so Turkey should not expect to do the same.

According to tuoitre.vn