Turkey unhappy over German FETO asylum decisions

By Ugur Cil

ANKARA (AA) - Recent decisions by the German authorities to grant asylum to a number of Turkish ex-military personnel suspected by Ankara of having links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) were criticized on Thursday.

Turkey’s foreign ministry said despite evidence linking the accused to FETO and the July 2016 coup attempt “this decision of Germany does not comply with the spirit of an ally and harms the multi-dimensional relations of the two countries”.

Ankara said it expected Berlin to review the decisions which had strained “long-established relations … and our cooperation in security and defense areas”.

“We hope that Germany supports Turkey in its simultaneous struggle against the world’s most dangerous terrorist groups, including FETO,” it added.

Numerous Turkish officials, including military, diplomatic and civilian personnel, were recalled from overseas by Ankara following the foiled July 15, 2016 coup attempt which left 249 people martyred and around 2,200 others wounded.

Several did not return to Turkey and applied for asylum in European countries, including Germany.

Turkey is awaiting an official statement from the German authorities on the issue.