Politics
07:59, 26-Jul-2017
Erdogan accuses Germany of sheltering militants
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Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday accused Germany of sheltering Kurdish and leftist militants as well as people linked to the failed coup in 2016.
Berlin has denied the accusations.
Tensions between the two countries have escalated since the arrest of a group of human rights activists, including a German national.
A Turkish prosecutor has accused them of links to the Gulen movement led by cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara blames for the attempted coup in July 2016. The US-based Gulen denied any involvement.
"Westerners want their agents to roam freely in our land while they hurt our people," Erdogan told lawmakers from his AK Party at a meeting in parliament.
Turkey has also dropped a request for Germany to help it investigate hundreds of German companies which it accuses of having links to terrorism.
Germany has increased pressure on Turkey in the past few days, threatening measures that could hinder German investment there and saying it is reviewing Turkish applications for arms projects.
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