MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Erdogan has blamed the SPD and CDU for using anti-Turkey rhetoric in their election campaigns, saying it is a disgrace for his country.
"I am telling all my citizens in Germany to not ever support… neither the CDU, the SPD nor the Greens. All of them are the enemies of Turkey," Erdogan said, adding that only the parties that do not engage in "enmity against Turkey" should be backed by the Turks.
#Erdogan declared today CDU, SPD & Greens as enemies of #Turkey, call on Turks in #Germany to not vote for them in upcoming elections. pic.twitter.com/VdKSw0EC0I
— Abdullah Bozkurt (@abdbozkurt) August 18, 2017
The relations between the countries have been deteriorationg over the course of the past few months.
In February, German-Turkish reporter of Die Welt newspaper Deniz Yucel was arrested in Istanbul over alleged links to terrorist organizations and propaganda. Turkey has accused Germany of harboring officers it suspects of being behind the July 2016 coup attempt.
In May, Ankara canceled a German delegation's visit to the Incirlik military airfield in Turkey, where German military personnel and jets were stationed, the day before the visit was scheduled to begin. In early June, Berlin responded to Ankara's move by announcing the withdrawal of its troops from the base, which started in July.
Germany’s parliamentary elections are slated for September 24.
