Berlin Summons Turkish Envoy Over Ministerˈs Anti-German Remark

Berlin, June 22, IRNA -- Germany has summoned the Turkish ambassador in Berlin to the foreign ministry following anti-German statements made by a Turkish minister in Ankara, a German official told media in representatives in Berlin on Friday. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle took reportedly the drastic diplomatic step in reaction to comments made by Turkish European Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis who warned Chancellor Angela Merkel not to block Turkeyˈs EU accession for tactical election campaign reasons. ˈIf Ms Merkel is looking for domestic political material for her election, this material had better not be Turkey,ˈ Turkish media reported Bagis as saying. ˈ(Merkel) will see that those who meddle in the affairs of Turkey end up badly,ˈ he added. Responding to the comments, German foreign ministry spokesman Andreas Peschke stressed the statements were unacceptable. ˈThey will not do,ˈ Peschke reieterated. Bagisˈ comments came reportedly after Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger said on Thursday in Vienna that Merkel agreed that restarting Turkeyˈs EU accession talks depends on how Ankara handles the countryˈs ongoing anti-government protests. Both countries shared concerns about the human rights situation in Turkey, Spindelegger said on the sidelines of a meeting of conservative European leaders in Vienna. Merkel did not adddress the press at the meeting, but German diplomats said last week that it would ˈrather not be possibleˈ to open a new negotiation chapter with Ankara at this stage, according to the German Press Agency (dpa)./end