Germany: Steinmeier rebukes Erdogan over terrorists comment

The German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier censured Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over comments that Germany was harbouring terrorists, during a joint press conference with the Estonian Foreign Minister Juergen Ligi in Berlin, Thursday.
"I cannot understand all of the statements made by President Erdogan about the security situation in Germany," stated Steinmeier. The German diplomat continued, stating "we want to have a constructive and close relationship with Turkey, that doesn't allow us to mince our words when it comes to our opinion on the freedom of opinion and press."
Turkey's leader had accused Germany of being a "backyard" of Gulenists, stating "We are concerned that Germany, which for years took the PKK and DHKP-C under its wings, has become the backyard of FETO," before adding "As I have always said, terror groups are like scorpions, sooner or later they will bite whoever carries them on their back," during a ceremony in Ankara earlier on Thursday.
The German Foreign Minister also took the opportunity to address the situation in Ukraine, stating, "As long as the conflictual parties stick to the position of taking the Minsk agreement as the basis for both sides efforts, we will try and contribute so that the implementation goes forward even if it happens slowly."