MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Yucel, who was working for Die Welt, was arrested in Istanbul in February over allegedly spreading propaganda of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), listed as a terrorist organization in Turkey. German officials repeatedly called for liberating the journalist. During the NATO summit in May, Merkel once again called on Erdogan to release Yucel.
"The fact that Merkel brings the saving of a suspected terrorist on the agenda was very, very strange for me," Erdogan said, adding that journalists interviewing terrorists thus "support propaganda of the terrorists," with law enforcement agencies "all around the world" agreeing with such assessment.
"Until the German government does that, Turkey will consider Germany as a country that protects terrorists," Erdogan noted.
At the same time, Erdogan stressed the importance of the bilateral relations between the countries with regards of membership in NATO, trade, and the three million Turkish expats living in Germany.
"We need each other. We must preserve this," Erdogan said, adding that hopefully the relations between Ankara and Berlin would once again reach the level of the times of former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, when they were "really very different."
The relation between Germany and Turkey deteriorated in spring, as Germany banned several Ankara’s rallies aimed at gaining support of the Turkish expats for the April’s constitutional referendum on amendments expanding powers of Erdogan.
In late June, Erdogan also requested from German officials to meet with the Turks living in Germany during the G20 summit, set to be held in Hamburg on July 7-8. According to German Foreign Minister, the request does not go in line with the event.
