She sharply criticized Erdogan's rule, saying: "Turkey is departing from all democratic practices at breakneck speed." Turkey has blamed Germany for harbouring people with alleged links to last year's failed coup against Erdogan as well as outlawed Kurdish militant groups, while Berlin has accused Turkey of backsliding on democratic values. "We do not accept these disrespectful messages against Turkey," he said in a tweet. Ankara blames Gulen, a former ally of Erdogan, for last year's coup attempt in Turkey. Polls show a double-digit lead for Merkel's conservative bloc over Schulz's centre-left Social Democrats before Germany's Sept. 24 election.

Source: CBC News September 04, 2017 19:18 UTC