Turkey is subjecting German diplomats to stricter controls at the country's main airport, in a tit-for-tat move after a Turkish MP was held this week, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported Thursday. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had the day earlier lambasted German authorities over the treatment of senior MP Ayse Nur Bahcekapili at Cologne airport.
The German ambassador was summoned, in the latest diplomatic row between Ankara and Berlin whose relationship has been eroded by a series of crises in recent months. The extra controls for German diplomatic passport holders began at Istanbul's main international Ataturk airport Wednesday evening, Anadolu reported. Four German diplomats who wanted to travel abroad missed their flight on Thursday due to the strict measures, it added.
Bahcekapili, the deputy speaker of the Turkish parliament, was stopped by German police at the Cologne airport on Monday and made to wait, according to Ankara. Turkey claimed German officers sought to detain her on suspicion of entering the country illegally because she was carrying a temporary travel document.
There has been no comment from the German authorities on the issue, which has added to already strained ties between the two countries especially after the failed July 15 coup in Turkey. Berlin has urged Ankara to comply with the rule of law while the Turkish government has accused Germany of sheltering Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants.