"These fundamental values are valid despite political problems that we discuss with each other," Merkel said in Berlin as quoted by the Bild newspaper, referring to the EU-Turkey migrant deal that was spearheaded by the German government.
German satirist Jan Boehmermann read a poem last week in a show aired by broadcaster ZDF that contained obscenities directed at the Turkish leader. The network later removed the controversial video from the Internet.
The Erdogan administration asked Berlin to punish the satirist citing German laws that make it illegal to insult foreign leaders. But Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert cited the chancellor as saying Monday she considered Article 5 of the constitution, which protects basic freedoms, as the "most important good."
