German FM denies backing PKK against Turkey

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said Thursday that “it was out of question for us to support terrorists”.

Speaking at a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu in Istanbul, Westerwelle said, “we have no tolerance to terror. We will continue to be against terror as a state based on the rule of law. PKK is regarded as a terrorist organization not only in Europe but Germany as well.

Asked about what he thought on recent remarks made by Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan that certain German foundations extended resources to PKK through opposition parties in Turkey, Minister Westerwelle said that “all the misunderstandings on the issue have been clarified”.

“German foundations receive appreciation in Turkey. As the German government, we pay high attention to counter-terrorism. It is out of question for us to support terrorists. You may not know that a German high court defined PKK as a terrorist organization a year ago. PKK is accepted as a terrorist organization in Europe and there is no tolerance to them,” Westerwelle said.

“Erdogan to visit Germany in Nov”

Davutoglu also said that Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan would travel to Germany at the beginning of November to mark celebrations on the 50th anniversary of the migration of Turkish workers to Germany and that, during the same days, Westerwelle would be in Istanbul to attend a regional conference on Afghanistan.

Davutoglu said that Westerwelle and he also discussed the developments in the Middle East.

The Arab Spring in the Middle East has an important place in the future perspective of Turkey, EU and Germany. We discussed the developments in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Syria, Davutoglu said.

We had a chance to discuss counter-terrorism. One of the two foreign legs of the terrorist organization PKK is in north of Iraq where they have training camps and the other is in EU countries where they recruit terrorists and collect financial support. We are in close cooperation with Germany regarding the terrorist organization, Davutoglu also said.

Agencies

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