Alwaght- Germany will reject a request by President Tayyip Erdogan to address Turkish citizens while attending the G20 summit in Hamburg next week.
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said Thursday that such appearances by Erdogan would be "inappropriate, “citing also security concerns for his request being rejected.
According to Gabriel, Ankara had submitted a formal request Wednesday for Erdogan to speak to Turkish citizens living in Germany on the sidelines of the July 7-8 summit of leading economies.
"We don't have the police forces available to ensure security, given the G20." Gabriel said. "But I also told them openly that such an appearance was not appropriate given the conflict situation that exists with Turkey, and that it would not fit into the political landscape at this time."
Erdogan has previously been permitted to address 1.4 million Turkish citizens living in Germany and around 3 million people with a Turkish background. But Gabriel said he wanted to change that policy for all non-EU countries.
German-Turkish relations have been strained over the past months, after German local authorities canceled public appearances of Turkish ministers and government officials campaigning ahead of the April 16 referendum in several German towns and cities, based on poor excuses such as the inadequacy of parking lots and security concerns, while allowing pro-PKK events and Turkish opposition officials to rally for the "No" campaign.
Turkey also accuses Germany of failing to cooperate in apprehending elements involved in last year’s failed coup aimed at ousting Erdogan.
A German parliamentary defense commission delegation was last year denied permission to visit the countries troops located at Turkey’s Incirlik Air Base used by NATO forces. The move came after the German parliament has overwhelmingly voted to label the 1915 killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as "genocide".
Germany recently approved a plan to remove its forces from Incirlik and relocate them to Jordan thus worsening ties between the two countries.
