ISTANBUL, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday denied Germany's claims that German companies operating in Turkey have been under government scrutiny for their alleged links to terror organizations.
"Neither an investigation nor an inquiry is under progress targeting any German firm," the president said at a meeting in Istanbul.
"It is all lie," he added.
German media reported that Ankara has provided Berlin a list of German companies suspected of supporting last year's failed coup attempt in Turkey.
On Thursday, German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said it would be difficult for German companies to invest in Turkey "due to the current political climate in the country."
"In fact, German companies have a distinctive place in our country," Erdogan said, urging Berlin to "pull itself together."
"I want to remind our German friends and the world that you are not powerful enough to blacken Turkey," he said. "You are not powerful enough to scare us."
Erdogan also described German foreign ministry's travel warning about Turkey as "baseless and malicious."
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel on Thursday tightened safety recommendations on travel to Turkey, citing Turkey's jailing of journalists and human rights activists.
The Turkey-Germany relations have further strained since early this week, when Turkey detained a German human rights activist who attended a suspected meeting in Istanbul.
