Austria has barred Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci from entering the country to attend an event marking the anniversary of last year’s failed coup in Turkey, a spokesman for Austria’s foreign ministry said on Monday. The planned event was “very big” and the visit represented a “danger for public order and security in Austria,” the spokesman added. The decision follows a similar move by the Netherlands, which said on Friday that Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Tugrul Turkes was not welcome to visit for a ceremony among Turkish expatriates to commemorate the anniversary. Austria has been one of the most vocal critics in the European Union of Turkey’s security crackdown since the failed coup last July in which 240 people were killed. Vienna has repeatedly called for Turkey’s EU accession talks to be stopped.

Source: Egypt Independent July 10, 2017 06:45 UTC