“In response to recent events, we have withdrawn our ambassador from Vienna for consultations and to review our relations with Austria”, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters.
Advertisement
Turkey has recalled its ambassador to Austria amid a growing spat between the two countries, state-run “Anatolia News Agency” reported on Monday.
Cavusoglu also slammed a prohibition on pro-democracy protests by Turks in Austria, noting that authorities had allowed pro-Kurdish demonstrations against Turkey. He was referring to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which Turkey and its allies consider a terror organization.
“However we saw they gave permission to demonstrate in Vienna to the PKK and its supporters”, Cavusoglu said. “We couldn’t stay inactive against this attitude which supports terrorism”, he added, as quoted by AP.
“Unfortunately, the ground for our bilateral relations and cooperation to continue as normal has disappeared”, Cavusoglu said.
Cavusoglu added: “We can not be two-faced like them, we are against all kinds of terror”.
The two countries have been in a tit-for-tat dispute in the weeks following the failed coup attempt in Turkey last month. The Turkish Foreign Ministry denounced it as “image-tarnishing” misinformation.
Cavusoglu said Austria’s top diplomat in Ankara was also called to the ministry over the demonstration in Vienna.
Kern also denounced the EU negotiations with Turkey about its potential future membership of the Union by calling it “fiction”, and suggested putting an end to these talks.
Advertisement
The move comes after Austrian authorities banned an anti-coup meeting in the country by Turkish citizens there, while allowed a pro-PKK march on Saturday, according to the report.
