Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ has targeted Germany’s foreign minister Sigmar Gabirel after he offered damning criticism of Turkey’s autocratic President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his government by saying that “we would like treat his psychiatric illness if he comes to Turkey.” Bozdağ has stated that “A liar cannot be a foreign minister”, and added “Gabriel rode roughshod over Erdoğan and Turkey]” by spreading baseless allegations.
Speaking to reporters at the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Bayat District 6th Ordinary Congress in the province of Çorum, Turkish Deputy PM Bozdağ said German politicians put their people to shame by noting that it helps us understand shoddy politics in Germany.
Bozdağ also said, “I am calling on [Gabriel] from here. Health facilities are much better than their counterparts in Germany. If he comes to Turkey, then we will all take necessary steps to save him from this inferiority complex as Turkish physicians are much more sophisticated than those doctors in Germany.”
Deputy PM Bozdağ has repeated that “Please get rid of this obsession of Erdoğan as this will not benefit anyone, neither German politicians nor your country.”
Speaking of the forthcoming general elections in Germany, Bozdağ also stated that “It seems that politicians in Germany have no future plans. They think that if they can continue to insist on speaking of Turkey, Turkish people, Turkish government and Turkey’s President Erdoğan, then the future of Germany can be built upon this such dishonorable and insincere moves.”
“But I am quite sure that the Germans will make the right decision in the elections, and put these scandalous politicians over the knuckles as they are only heaping ridicule upon their people. Germans are intelligent people and they will know better than us how poorly these politicians are ruling the country,” said Bozdağ.
When asked about the allegations of German Foreign Minister’s wife was threatened by supporters of Erdoğan, Bozdağ has said that “Gabriel lied to the German people, to the Turkish people and to the public. It was already revealed that this person who was being accused of threatening Gabriel’s wife was neither a Turk nor a real threat, but a German raised criticisms over Gabriel’s party [Social Democratic Party of Germany] in an investigation conducted by the German security officers. Unfortunately, there is not much I can say about German politics here in terms of political correctness, but when they come to Turkey, we can help them.”
Gabriel on Thursday said Turkey would never be a member of the European Union as long as it is governed by Turkey’s autocratic President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Accusing Turkey of not taking EU accession talks seriously, Gabriel said: “It is clear that in this state, Turkey will never become a member of the EU. It’s not because we don’t want them but because the Turkish government and Erdoğan are quickly moving away from everything that Europe stands for.”
Gabriel’s remarks came during an interview with the Bild daily following a series of disputes between the two NATO allies. Gabriel asked how a country banning freedom of thought, arresting innocent people and oppressing the opposition could become a member of the EU and added that Germany does not have any problems with the Turkish people but with the Turkish government and its policies.
Reiterating his call for caution for Germans travelling to Turkey, Gabriel argued that anyone who does not accept Erdoğan and who is suspected of having links to the Gülen movement is viewed as a terrorist by Turkish government.
