German Minister Says Ankara Accusations Aimed at Portraying Turkey as Victim

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said on Tuesday the Turkish accusations that Germany is supporting terrorism are absurd and aimed at portraying Turkey as a victim in order to increase solidarity of the country’s population.

BERLIN (Sputnik) – He also said that the German politicians and society should no react on the Turkish "provocations" with new provocations.

"These accusations are absurd, they have no real ground, they have only one goal – to portray Turkey as a victim, they are aimed at causing the solidarity effect by people, who may still oppose the coming referendum," de Maiziere told journalists.

"These are Turkish internal debates," de Maiziere said.

Earlier in March, Ankara accused Berlin of blocking several rallies across Germany aimed at promoting support for Turkey's referendum among Turkish community. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Germany's decision to ban certain pre-referendum rallies were "no different to those of the Nazi period." German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel rejected Erdogan's accusations, adding that open and friendly relations with Turkey remain Germany's objective.

On Monday, Erdogan accused German Chancellor Angela Merkel of supporting terrorism.