MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Austria joined Germany and the Netherlands this month in banning campaign rallies by Turkish ministers who wanted to drum up support for giving President Recep Tayyip Erdogan more executive powers in an April 16 referendum.
The cancellations angered Turkey, with Erdogan comparing the policy of EU governments to Nazi practices and severing diplomatic dies with the Netherlands. Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern called for an EU-wide ban on campaigning by Turkish politicians to spare individual countries pressure from Ankara.
"Turkey cannot become an EU member. What it needs is a regular base for cooperation in spheres where this makes sense … I think it is necessary to stop entry talks," Kurz told a local broadcaster, ZIB.
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