Ömer Çelik had posted on his Twitter account about German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel’s criticism to the fascistic practices in Turkey and argued that Gabriel’s statements were racist. Çelik said Gabriel was “cheating off of the extreme right”.

Undersecretary Michael Roth from the German Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Ömer Çelik’s accusations and stressed that Çelik’s comments were “harmful” and “unacceptable”. Roth spoke to Die Welt newspaper and warned: “This type of things should not happen again.”

Roth pointed out the numerous areas of cooperation between Germany and turkey and argued that political differences should be resolved through “mutual respect”. Roth said both parties need to show respect to the other.

The latest reaction from Germany against Turkey had come from the Minister of Justice Heiko Maas when Turkey demanded the extradition of writer Doğan Akhanlı from Spain through Interpol. Maas had warned that AKP is using Turkey’s membership to the Interpol to intimidate their opponents and that the accusations could be “arbitrary”.

There have also been calls for sanctions against assets and bank accounts of institutions close to the AKP and Erdoğan’s family.