Turkey infuriated by tapping claims amid Berlin, Gülenist spying allegations
The Turkish government has toughened its stance on Germanyâs alleged spying on Ankara, a NATO ally, while also vowing to take legal action over claims that the so-called âparallel structureâ wiretapped a key governmental agency.
âThe Foreign Ministry has been working on Germanyâs wiretapping,â Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yıldız told reporters Aug. 18. âIt is an unacceptable situation.â
Earlier, over the weekend, a senior executive of Turkeyâs ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) used more cautious wording when asked to comment on a report by German weekly Der Spiegel which said the German secret service, the BND, has been spying on its NATO ally since 2009.
âI am of the opinion that this needs to be taken seriously,â AKP Deputy Chair Mehmet Ali Åahin said Aug. 17.
âDefinitely, our government and Foreign Ministry will carry out the necessary research about the allegations in the magazine,â he added. Nonetheless, he also said Spiegelâs story needs to be approached âcautiously,â recalling the rocky relationship between the prominent news magazine and the AKP.
During his victorious presidential election campaign, President-elect Recep Tayyip ErdoÄan launched repeated attacks against Der Spiegel after the magazine hugely irritated the ruling party with a major cover story â written in both German and Turkish â that was sharply critical of ErdoÄanâs strongman rule.
âDer Spiegel is not a magazine that sees favorable dreams about Turkey. It makes very unfair news about the AKP and especially about Recep Tayyip ErdoÄan,â Åahin said.
German officialsâ reported...
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