BREAKING NEWS

German minister cites strained ties with Turkey after failed coup

Talks between Germany and Turkey are strained after a failed coup attempt and Turkey's crackdown on suspected supporters, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Thursday.
Steinmeier, speaking in the northern German city of Stralsund, said there was virtually "no basis" for discussions at the moment, given Turkey's perception that Germany had not taken the coup attempt seriously and Germany's concern about mass arrests and dismissals in Turkey afterwards.
He said reinstatement of the death penalty in Turkey would prevent its entry into the European Union, but warned against prematurely halting discussions with Ankara. That would eliminate any leverage Europeans regarding the many thousands of people who had been arrested in Turkey, he said.