Erdogan Says Germany 'Committing Suicide' by Not Allowing to Meet Turkish Expats

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday in an interview with the Die Zeit newspaper criticized Germany's stance, saying that it was "committing a suicide" by not allowing him to speak before the Turks living in the country.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — In June, Erdogan officially requested from the German government to meet with Turkish expats living in the country during the G20 summit in Hamburg, scheduled for July 7-8. German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said that the request was not "a good idea" and did not fit the purpose of the summit.

"Germany is committing a suicide," Erdogan said in an interview with Die Zeit Editor-in-Chief Giovanni di Lorenzo, adding that Berlin must "correct this mistake."

Over the course of this year, the relations between Berlin and Ankara have become increasingly strained. Tensions sparked after Deniz Yucel, a Turkish-German journalist working for German newspaper Die Welt, was arrested in Istanbul in February over allegedly spreading propaganda on behalf of the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK), which is recognized as terrorist organization in Turkey.

The situation between both nations deteriorated further in early spring, when Berlin banned Ankara's pre-referendum rallies in Germany. At the same time, Turkey stalled the visit of a delegation of German lawmakers to the Turkish Incirlik airbase, which stations German soldiers.