Germany on Monday warned Turkey against further distancing itself from Europe by reinstating the death penalty after a disputed referendum and urged authorities to seek "respectful dialogue" to heal a divided society. Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said that if Ankara were to bring back the death penalty, the move would be "synonymous with the end of the European dream" and mark the end of decades of negotiations to enter the European Union. At any rate, joining would not work right now," he added, noting that Turkey must decide which direction to take. Turkey abolished the death penalty in 2004 as part of its bid to join the European Union and Brussels has made it clear that any move to restore it would scupper Ankara's efforts to join the bloc. Ties between Germany and Turkey plunged during the referendum campaign when Erdogan accused authorities of acting like "Nazis" by banning ministers from campaigning to Germany's huge ex-pat Turkish community.

Source: The Local April 17, 2017 14:26 UTC