German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday rejected remarks by Turkey's president accusing officials of "Nazi practices," days after a local authority in Germany prevented a Turkish minister from addressing a rally. "One cannot seriously comment on such misplaced statements," Merkel said at an event in Berlin, the dpa news agency reported. German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel sought to smooth stirred-up emotions on Monday and stressed the need to "normalize" what he calls a "highly strained" relationship with Turkey. Gabriel tried to iron things out with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in a phone conversation on Friday, and the two agreed to meet in Germany on Wednesday. Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said that "normally you would have to think that democracy is strong enough to cope with this."

Source: ABC News March 06, 2017 08:39 UTC