ANKARA, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's European Union Minister Omer Celik accused on Wednesday German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel of "copying the far-right and racists" through his statements in the ongoing diplomatic row between two countries.
"Gabriel is not making original statements. He speaks by simply copying from the far-right and racists," Celik tweeted.
On Saturday, Gabriel called on Ankara to abstain from meddling in German general elections, after Erdogan called on ethnic Turks to vote against three main parties in the Sept. 24 election.
The Turkish minister accused Gabriel of trying to "sabotage" Turkey-EU relations and encouraging racists.
Relations between Turkey and Germany, home to three million ethnic Turks, have strained since Turkey's failed July 2016 coup attempt.
Ankara has accused Berlin of providing asylum for coup plotters and Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) members, while Berlin has strongly criticized the detention of German journalists and human rights activists in Turkey.
