Turkish president attacks German foreign minister for Syria comments

Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, launched a personal attack on German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas following Berlin’s decision to restrict arms exports to Turkey in response to its incursion into Northern Syria.

“Here comes the German foreign minister, a man who does not know his limitations, to say we won’t sell any weapons to Turkey. We’re finished,’’ Erdogan said mockingly on Tuesday.

He insisted that Maas and Germany would instead be the losers, according to comments reported in Turkish media.

Erdogan spoke to newsmen on the flight back from an official visit to Azerbaijan.

He accused Maas of being inexperienced and ignorant of politics.

“If you understood anything of politics, you wouldn’t talk like that,’’ Erdogan said.

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Restricting arms exports to Turkey is the only punitive action taken by Germany since Turkey launched its offensive against Syrian Kurdish militias in Syria on Oct. 9.

The ban affects only those weapons that could find use in the conflict, while other trade-in arms will continue. Export permits already issued will not be withdrawn.

The head of Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD) in parliament, Rolf Muetzenich, on Wednesday described Erdogan’s attack on Maas, an SPD member, as completely unacceptable.

Erdogan had crossed a boundary in attacking Maas in this way, Muetzenich told DPA.

“Vicious insults, including personal defamation, poison the already tense relations between our two countries,’’ he said.

NAN. https://newsroom.nan.ng/turkish-president-attacks-german-foreign-minister-for-syria-comments/