Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday accused Chancellor Angela Merkel of backing terrorists, as new acrimony erupted between Turkey and its EU allies. EU foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, and EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn called on Turkey to “refrain from excessive statements and actions that risk further exacerbating the situation”. He said, “Mrs Merkel, why are you hiding terrorists in your country? The Netherlands also issued a new travel warning to Dutch citizens, urging them to stay “alert across the whole of Turkey”. After Erdogan used the same language to scold the Netherlands, Merkel said on Monday that the comparison was “completely wrong” and “banalises suffering”.

Source: The Local March 14, 2017 22:52 UTC